Silence and Shadows
by Purple Eyed Cat
Summary: Twins, seperated at birth, will now find each other once again. One, despising her life as a court lady, longs to get away from it all and become Shang. The other, raised in a foriegn land, is now on her way to Tortall as part of the embassy, and longs to
1. Prologue

**A/N: Ok, so this is my first time trying to write a Tamora Pierce fic, so benice. I know thisprologue mightbe a little confusing, but this is just two different people thinking. Read and Review please!**

**Disclaimer: Iown nothing but the plot. **

**Summary: Twins, seperated at birth, will now find each other once again. One, despising her life as a court lady, longs to get away from it all and become Shang. The other, raised in a foriegn land, is now on her way to Tortall as part of the embassy, and longs to fit in at court. **

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Silence and Shadows: The Prologue

Hands grasp cold bark, feet replacing hands as the climb continues. Impatiently, hands grasp for holds, while feet try to keep up. Shadows reach for me as I continue to struggle upwards. Reaching for another handhold, I am stopped short by a tug: my dress had caught on some of the branches. Impatient, I grasp the bottom of my dress and pull. The silence of the night is broken for a moment with the sound of a small rip, and I continue upwards. Winding the way to the top, swaying with the wind, I break free of the leaves and come face to face with a clear, dark sky, a million stars gazing down.

The beauty of the stars shining down takes my breath away, and for a moment, I forget why I have come here. I sit and admire the stars, but the soft rustling of leaves in the wind reminds me where I am. My mood returns, and I turn away from the brilliant sky for a moment, but I turn back, for the brightness of the stars draws me, and I can't look away.

Dropping my gaze for an instant, I survey the brightly colored palace not a hundred feet away, and sigh. The tree gently sways in the wind, echoing my sigh. I hear the laughter of the ladies, the quiet melody of the music, and sigh again. A soft shadow in front of me draws my attention away from it all, and I deliberately turn my back on the palace. The familiar form in front of me leaps from branch to my shoulder, and I stroke my cat softly, not daring to break the silence. The stars make the sky seem infinite, yet at the same time, it seems as if I can reach up and touch one, bringing it down to where I am.

* * *

The sheer white veil flutters in front of my face, and I push it away. The waves rock the boat gently, and the boards beneath me seem to sway. I return my gaze the starry sky, wondering at the beauty of it all. I drop my gaze to the disappearing shoreline, already dark and misty, soon to fade from everything but my memory. My sigh is whipped away by the wind, and the stars seem to dim for a moment, before regaining their luster.

The sadness wells within me again, and I want to wail my longing to the wind, but I dare not break the silence. The night is so perfect, with the lapping waves, the winds, pushing us along, and the stars guiding us. A slight shadow approaches me, and rocking back on its heels, transfers its weight from the deck to my shoulder in a leap. Undisturbed by this motion, I stroke my cat softly, still staring up at the sky. When I look back, the shoreline has been replaced by the shadows. The veil, pushed by the wind, flutters into my face again, and this time, I refuse to push it away as the tears run silently down my cheeks.

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**A/N: So, what did you think? Good, bad, not so good? Please tell me if I should continue, I wrote this on a spur of the moment thing. Please review and tell me what you think! No flames please!**

**Purple Eyed Cat**


	2. Author's Note

**AUTHOR'S NOTE:**

Okay, just to clear some things up, in my prologue, I know some things are confusing. The first set of thoughts, the lady who is climbing the tree, she is the twin that wants to escape court life and become Shang.

The second lady, the one on the boat, is the twin that is part of the embassy from the Copper Isles to Tortall, and wants to fit in at court and find a good husband. More will be revealed in Chapter 1, which I will hopefully have up in a day or two. Thanks to all my reviewers, and I will keep writing!

Always yours,

**Purple Eyed Cat**


	3. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, here's Chapter 1, as promised. I hope the author's note cleared some things up, and now we're going to meet the girls. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the character names you don't recognize and the plot.**

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 1

A young woman turned away from the window of the palace as a gentle hand tapped her on the shoulder. Her black hair was tied into a severe knot at the nape of her neck and her blue-grey eyes held a sparkle of annoyance at the interruption. The young woman's black hair accentuated her blue-gray eyes, set under straight black brows. Her nose was straight, her lips full, and her chin stubborn.

She turned to face the person had tapped her shoulder. The young man that stood behind her had dark brown hair that highlighted his bright blue eyes. "Kei?" he asked. The young woman didn't respond; she just stared at him with a mulish expression in her blue-gray eyes.

"Alec, why in the world did you send me down from that tree?" The young woman demanded, blue-gray eyes flashing.

Alec laughed, blue eyes twinkling. "Keianna, if I had left you in that tree, you never would have come down! You would have stayed there by yourself until the tree died and fell over."

Kei, or Keianna, as she was formally known, lifted a black eyebrow, but a small grin crept over her face, ruining her serious gaze. "I would not have stayed there by myself," she told her brother primly, "Tacy would have kept me company." She petted the golden tabby cat on her lap, who stretched and purred, opening one lazy green eye before closing it again.

Alec laughed again. "Fine company! You, your cat, and nothing but the wind!"

Seeing the humor in it all, Kei gave up and laughed too. Sobering, she told her brother. "I had to get away from the ball, though. I couldn't stand another minute of it!"

Alec's expression changed to a sympathetic one. "Same as last time?"

"Same as last time." Kei confirmed, setting her chin stubbornly. "I had to get away from it all, so I left and climbed the tree."

"I bet Mother was furious," Alec said, watching his sister carefully.

"She was," Kei said carelessly, removing her pins and hair from its knot and letting it flow down her shoulders and back, the way she liked it. "But Mother can go--"

"I wouldn't finish that sentence if I were you, Keianna," a silky voice interrupted.

Kei turned towards the doorway, and her blue-gray eyes flashed with barely concealed hatred. "Adrienne," she spat, addressing her older sister.

Adrienne was a tall lady, with blonde hair and dark blue eyes. She was well-respected at court, but Kei knew better. Adrienne was as heartless and dangerous as a snake, and she never let her "freakish" younger sister forget that she had been adopted seventeen years ago.

Alec looked from older to younger sister, worried. He never liked being caught in the middle of their spats, so he tried not to be in the room with both of them at the same time.

"I can say what I like, Adrienne," Kei informed her sister frostily, still glaring.

Adrienne shrugged indifferently. "Fine," she said loftily, and then her features morphed to one of pure malice. "By the way," she said sweetly, "there's another ball tonight, but Alec would have told you that." She shot an innocent glance at her younger brother before turning and continuing down the hallway. Alec turned red at this parting shot and looked at Kei.

Kei groaned and slumped back against the cushions on the window seat. "Alec!" She moaned, and her brother gave her a sheepish grin.

"Sorry, Kei," he told her, "I really was going to tell you, it just slipped my mind."

Kei cocked an eyebrow at this, but let it go, slouching in her seat and looking dejected. "What's this one for?" She asked without much enthusiasm.

"Some embassy from the Copper Isles is here, and the King wants to welcome them," Alec told her, and Kei looked up at him pleadingly.

"Alec?" She asked sweetly, but Alec raised his hands and backed up, shaking his head.

"No," he said firmly, "no, I am not going to go to Mother and ask her if you can skip this ball. You've tried it twice already and it hasn't worked either time, remember?"

"But," Kei protested, "that was when I asked her, and she wants me to go to these balls and find a husband. When you ask her for something, she gives whatever you want."

Alec shook his head again. "No," he told his younger sister, still shaking his head.

"Alec!" Kei pleaded, "please? It's not like the time I asked her for Shang lessons!"

Her brother grinned. "That didn't go over too well, if I recall correctly."

Kei gave him a wry grin in return. "It didn't," she admitted, scooping up her still-sleeping cat and placing her on the window seat as she made her way to the screen that hid her clothes.

"Kei, I don't want to have to deal with Mother again," Alec protested. Kei didn't answer as she quickly slid out of her dress in favor for a pair of tan breeches. With that came a pale blue shirt, with a pale gray tunic over it.

Her pendant, the one she wore at all times, got caught, and she pulled it free. The pendant was of a sitting black cat, with twinkling sapphires stones for eyes. Kei had been told that she was found with it around her neck as a baby. Tucking the pendant beneath her shirt, she straightened her tunic.

Slipping out from behind the screen, she treated her brother to the best pathetic look she could conjure.

"Please, Alec?" She begged. She saw the indecision in his face, and knowing she had won, added, "you owe me."

Alec frowned slightly, and Kei left him to his contemplation as she went over to the table where her dagger rested. She pulled the blade out of the sheath, gazing at the polished surface as she waited for her brother to make up his mind. Alec sighed, and Kei smiled slightly, knowing she had won.

"Fine," Alec sighed, shaking his head, his brown hair flopping into his eyes. "I'll do it."

Kei sheathed her dagger and turned to her brother, treating him with her best smile. "Thank you, Alec," she grinned, coming over and pressing a soft kiss to his cheek.

"Where are you going?" Alec wanted to know, eyeing Kei's dagger. Kei grabbed her pins again, and this time, she pinned her hair up in a loose bun at the back of her neck.

"Practice courts," she told him, buckling her dagger to her belt. "Coming, Tacy?"

The golden tabby had been watching all this with interested green eyes, and at her mistress's summons, she leapt down from her perch on the window seat, and trotted over to Kei. Leaping up to the young woman's shoulder, she swayed for a moment before settling down.

Alec shook his head. "You're never going to give up, are you?"

Kei grinned at him, blue-gray eyes sparkling. "Never ever," she told her brother, who sighed and shook his head again. Kei looked at him again, serious now.

"You have to go talk to Mother," she said, heading for the door. "Don't wait up." With that, she was out the door and down the hallway before Alec could reply. Shaking his head once more, he followed his persistent sister out the door, heading the opposite direction.

* * *

"What do you think, Amaya?" Kaelyn asked as she studied her reflection critically in the mirror in her suite of rooms in the palace of Corus, Tortall. Her reflection stared back at her: Black hair, tied into an ornate braid, green eyes under straight black brows, a straight nose, full lips, and a soft yet stubborn chin.

Kaelyn was wearing a pale green dress that brought out her green eyes. Eyeing herself in the mirror once more, she sighed and turned to Amaya. "Well?"

Her black cat was sitting on the bed, blue eyes wide. Her white-flecked coat shone in the sunlight, and purring, the cat hopped down from the bed where she was perched and leaped onto her mistress's shoulder. Kaelyn slipped her cat off her shoulder and cradled her, sighing softly, nuzzling her cat's fur. Amaya meowed and batted at the chain around Kaelyn's neck. Kaelyn laughed softly, lifting her pendant out from beneath her dress so the cat could inspect it.

Sitting in her palm, sparkling in the sunlight, was her pendant. A cat regarded her there, curled up and showing an imperious expression in its eyes. The cat pendant was of a golden cat, with gleaming emerald eyes that regarded Kaelyn solemnly. Kaelyn kept it with her always, and the only thing she knew about it was that she was found with it around her neck when she was adopted seventeen years ago.

A shrill voice interrupted her musings. "Lyn! Lyn!"

Kaelyn turned just in time to see her younger sister, Anielka, tumbled into the room in a shower of pink lace and ruffles. The girl beamed up at her older sister, hazel eyes gleaming, brown hair flying.

"Lyn!" she cried, bouncing around her sister excitedly, "have you seen my new dress? I'm so excited for the ball tonight! Cousin Dovesary wants us to make a good impression, and I know I will! Aren't you excited?"

"Ani, Ani," Kaelyn soothed, trying to get her sister to calm down, "of course I'm excited, and yes, I love your new dress."

Inwardly, she sighed. Being distantly related to Queen Dovesary of the Copper Isles had its benefits, but Kaelyn had never wanted to leave her beautiful Isles to be part of the embassy. Ani's next sentence brought her back to where she was.

"Oh, yes," the younger girl remembered, "Jamal wanted me to tell you that you have to be in the King's stateroom to discuss your entrance to the ball by the time the bell rings the first hour." She glanced up at her older sister, hazel eyes sparkling.

Kaelyn smiled down at her sister, but her mind was elsewhere. "Ani, what don't you go explore?" She suggested as she straightened her hair again, and Anielka grinned before racing out the door, her brown hair streaming behind her as she called, "Bye, Lyn!"

Kaelyn shook her head, amused, and tucked her pendant back under her dress. Boosting Amaya up onto her shoulder again, she checked her reflection once more before she headed out the door, hoping that she could find someone that could tell her how to get to King Jonathan's stateroom before she got hopelessly lost in this unfamiliar palace.

Sighing, Kaelyn turned down yet another hallway that looked exactly like the one she had just wandered down. Hearing the sounds of someone, she hurried down the hallway and turned to find what she supposed was an outdoor practice court. The person practicing was doing a series of fast blows, kicks, punches, and blocks, almost too fast for the eye to follow. Kaelyn watched all of this with awed amazement, and then noticed with shock that the person was actually a young woman about her age, her raven-black hair tied up in a loose bun, dressed in a pair of tan breeches, a pale blue shirt and a pale gray tunic.

Delivering a high kick to the air, the young woman unsheathed a dagger that gleamed wickedly in the sun. She threw it high, spinning around in a full circle before catching it by the hilt before sheathing it again. If Kaelyn hadn't been well-trained as a lady, her mouth would have dropped open in surprise. She had heard what the fighting ladies of Tortall could do, but she had never seen one in action, until now. She watched with interest as a golden tabby leapt down and padded over to the young woman, purring.

Kaelyn watched the stranger cradle the cat before putting her on her shoulder, much like Amaya did now. Suddenly, without warning, her pendant began to pulse with heat. Surprised, Kaelyn drew the pendant out from beneath the neckline of her dress, and was surprised to find that the golden cat's emerald eyes were glowing a steady green light. The cat grew hotter, burning almost, and suddenly, the heat died away. Kaelyn was distracted from the phenomenon by a voice calling, "Kei!"

Kaelyn looked up as the young woman did. Hurrying across the practice courts was a handsome young man with brown hair and dancing blue eyes. The young woman, Kei, brightened and hurried over to embrace the young man.

"Alec!" She greeted him warmly, "what did Mother say?"

Alec's blue eyes grew grave, and he replied, "Mother said you have to go to the ball."

Kaelyn watched as Kei cursed violently, and her mouth almost dropped open again, but her training held her back.

* * *

Kei looked up at her brother, who merely raised an eyebrow at this outburst, and said, "I begged and pleaded, but she still refused." Kei cursed again, and Alec took her by the arm.

"Come, my little Shang," he said, laughing, "it's time for you to get ready for the ball." Kei grumbled again, but followed her brother willingly. Suddenly, she stopped short. Her hand gripped the chain that held her pendant, and she frowned. Her pendant was hot, like a fire's warmth, almost burning, and she had no idea why. Drawing it out from beneath her shirt, she gasped. The black cat's blue eyes glowed with a steady blue light, and the heat from the pendant became almost unbearable. As suddenly as it had come, the heat died away, and the pendant looked like it always had. Deciding to leave this mystery for another time, Kei followed her brother, who didn't seem to notice anything amiss, back into the maze of hallways.

* * *

"Kaelyn!" Kaelyn looked around, confused by who was calling her. She had watched the young woman, Kei, and the young man, Alec, go, quite fascinated by them. She relaxed as she recognized the familiar form of her brother heading towards her.

"Kaelyn, I've been looking all over for you," Jamal told her. Kaelyn studied her brother for a moment. Jamal of the Copper Isles was tall, dark and handsome, and could make any court girl swoon. His coal black hair was curly, and his dark brown eyes sparkled with intelligence.

"Kaelyn, did you hear me?" Kaelyn snapped back and looked at her brother, who was looking agitated. "We're already late for the meeting! What happened to you? One minute, you're in your rooms, and the next, you're out here gawking at some young man practicing!"

Kaelyn shook her head, deciding not correct her brother, and to let him rant. She followed her worried brother back into the still-unfamiliar palace, glad for a guide, for her mind was swirling with all the things she had seen and heard.

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**A/N: That was an introductory chapter, just to get familiar with the characters. Things will get more interesting as I go along. Please review and tell me what you think! No flames please!**

**Purple Eyed Cat**


	4. Chapter 2

**A/N: Hey all, I'm back with Chapter 2! I hope you like this one as much as you like the last chapter!**

**Disclaimer: The characters you don't reconize belong to me, and everyone else belongs to Tamora Pierce. This is her world, I'm just borrowing it. **

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 2

Kei sighed and fidgeted, uncomfortable in her ball gown. Her blue dress was beautiful, but she despised it. The dress fell to her feet, with white embroidery along the sides and waist, drawing attention to her slim figure. Her blue-gray eyes stared moodily into space, and her black hair was caught up in a pale blue net at the back her head.

Kei fidgeted again, waiting for the rest of the embassy for the Copper Isles to be introduced. The ambassadors had been introduced already, but there were three nobles that still had to be introduced. Beside her, Alec gave her a sympathetic smile and squeezed her hand, a warning to be patient. Kei glanced at her brother quizzically, and he nodded in the direction of their mother. Kei rolled her eyes at her brother before glancing at her mother.

Komala of Cavas Hill was a tall lady, with golden hair and blue eyes. She was stern, demanding of her children what all noblewomen expected: That her daughters become court ladies and have good marriages, and that her only son become a knight. Her oldest two children had done as she had instructed, but Keianna had balked at becoming a lady. She and her mother rarely saw eye to eye, and Komala was always trying to find Kei a suitor, which she didn't want anymore than she wanted a life at court. Komala watched Kei for a moment, but after Keianna returned her gaze, she nodded, satisfied, and turned back to watching the rest of the embassy descend the grand staircase.

* * *

Kaelyn waited just out of sight of the grand ballroom, fidgeting nervously. She stood beside her brother, who was splendid in dark brown velvet, while little Ani was perfect in a gold dress. She checked her dress once more, only too well aware that they were next.

She was wearing a beautiful, pale green dress, with gold embroidery trailing from the waist to the hem, showing off her delicate figure. Her black hair was done in an elaborate braid that was twisted into a tight knot at the back of her head and studded with small emerald pins.

Her green eyes showed her nervousness, but she tried to hide it as Jamal offered his arm to her and his other arm to Anielka as the herald beckoned them forward before calling out, "Lady Kaelyn of the Copper Isles, Lord Jamal of the Copper Isles, and Lady Anielka of the Copper Isles."

Kaelyn took a deep breath and stepped out onto the staircase. The sight before her took her breath away. Her eyes swept over the crowd as she descended, taking in the crowd of brightly clad Tortallian nobles. She took in the great ballroom itself, with its candles and polished floors. She had no memory of getting to the bottom of the stairs, but suddenly, Jamal was guiding her towards the monarchs. She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, and walked forward.

* * *

Alec stared as the rest of the embassy descended the staircase. His eyes swept over the younger girl, who was about thirteen, to whom he assumed was her older brother, a handsome young man about his age. His gaze came to rest on the other girl, and his breath caught. The young woman was beautiful, but it was not her beauty that took his breath away. The young woman reminded him strongly of someone, but he didn't know who. It was the way she carried herself, her black hair, and her features that made her so familiar, and he was determined to find out who she resembled.

* * *

Kei watched, slightly interested as the rest of the embassy walked forward to greet the monarchs. The two girls she dismissed as just two other court ladies that had come to find husbands, the young man, about Alec's age, intrigued her. She studied him for a moment, and then left her studying for later, as the monarchs signaled for the dancing to begin.

* * *

"Excuse me, my lady, but might I have this dance?" Kaelyn looked up from where she sat, surprised. A young man stood in front of her, waiting expectantly. She had seen this man before, Kaelyn was sure of it, but where? She studied the man carefully, taking in his blue eyes and brown hair, and his ready smile. Memory rushed back and she realized that this was Alec, the young man who had gone to talk to the young woman, Kei, at the practice courts the day before.

"Milady?" Alec asked, bowing. Kaelyn took his outstretched hand, letting him lead her out onto the dance floor. The musicians struck up a slow waltz, and Kaelyn followed Alec's steps as they talked quietly.

"Sir Alec of Cavas Hill, milady," Alec had introduced himself. Kaelyn nodded back, murmuring, "Kaelyn of the Copper Isles," before the music took a faster pace and the dancers sped up.

"You remind me of someone," Alec said softly as they made their way around the dance floor.

"Really?" Kaelyn questioned, glancing up with curious green eyes.

"Really," Alec assured her, smiling. "But I can't place who." He shook his head, as if to rid himself of some thought, and then asked, "How do you like court life?"

Kaelyn gave him a shy smile, commenting, "I have yet to get used to the strange ways of the Tortallian court, milord."

Alec seemed surprised at this answer. "You don't mind coming to a strange land by yourself?"

"I'm not by myself," Kaelyn told him, frowning slightly. "My older brother and younger sister came with me."

Alec nodded his head, slight worry showing in his blue eyes. "I'm sorry, milady, I meant no offense."

Kaelyn gave him a slight smile, reassuring him, "I did not take any, milord."

The two lapsed into silence for awhile as they waltzed around the floor, but suddenly Alec let out a soft chuckle.

"What?" Kaelyn wanted to know, fixing him with bright, curious green eyes.

"It surprises me that you like court life so much," Alec told her, and at Kaelyn's curious look, he elaborated, "I keep forgetting all the ladies of the court are not like my sister."

"Your sister, milord?" Kaelyn asked, confused. How could Alec's sister have anything to do with her?

"My sister, Keianna," Alec told her, "is not the average court lady. She would rather fight than spend time at any ball in a dress. She was training to be Shang, but our mother stopped the lessons, fearing Keianna would not find a husband if she knew fighting arts."

Kaelyn looked at him, green eyes curious. "But what harm could that do? In the Copper Isles, noble ladies are taught to defend themselves."

Alec sighed. "My mother and Kei rarely see eye to eye. In fact…" But what exactly he was about to say would go unknown, for at that moment Adrienne approached them.

Alec turned to his sister in time to hear her tell him, "You need to get Kei. If Mother finds out where she's gone, then we'll all pay for it!"

Alec sighed, and tried to sooth his older sister. For all she seemed concerned about Kei, he knew that she only wanted to save her reputation. "Adrienne, where is she?" He asked, just to keep Adrienne from ridiculing Kei herself.

"She sequestered herself in that oak tree out in the gardens, by the patio." Reassured by Alec's firm nod, indicating he would take care of it, Adrienne swept off into the crowd of nobles and knights.

Kei's brother turned to Kaelyn, worry in his blue eyes. Kaelyn was staring after Adrienne, as if the older girl was a dangerous snake. Kaelyn's green eyes met Alec's blue ones as he said apologetically, "I'm sorry milady, but I must take care of this."

Kaelyn nodded her acceptance, and watched him walk towards the patio to the gardens. As if reminded of something, Alec turned back and crossed to her side. "Next time we meet, milady," he told her softly, "you must call me Alec. Milord is such a heavy title." Before she could even blink, or react to his comment, he was gone, striding towards the gardens.

* * *

Kei heard her brother coming. How could you not? His grunts and breathing could be heard a mile away, even by Kei, perched precariously in the treetops, still in her ball gown. When he finally reached her, she gave him a hand up, and he pulled himself onto the large branch beside her.

He tipped his face up to the starry night sky and stared up at the sky in wonder, his face bathed silver by the moonlight. "I can see why you come up here," he commented, "it's beautiful."

"Like Lady Kaelyn?" Kei quipped, watching with growing amusement as her brother blushed in the light of the moon.

"Keianna," he warned her sternly, but he couldn't keep the stern mask for long, and he laughed softly. "Fine," he admitted, "you win. She is beautiful." He saw Kei's smirk and quickly changed the subject.

"So," he said calmly, "what sent you racing up here to get away from the festivities?"

Kei gave an unladylike snort. "I'm tired of these balls," she ranted, blue-gray eyes fierce, "where Mother just parades me around to all the potential suitors, and I'm supposed to pretend to like these men that want nothing more than a wife!"

"Potential suitors?" Alec questioned, "Like Lord Jamal?"

A soft, shy smile crept onto Kei's face, and her blue-gray eyes softened. "No," she admitted softly, sounding slightly disappointed, "Mother did not introduce me to--" She broke off her sentence and frowned for a moment, seeming to consider what she had been saying, and then glared at her brother, eyes flashing. "Where did you get that idea?" She demanded sharply.

It was Alec's turn to smirk and Kei's turn to blush as he replied, "I saw you staring at him when he was announced." Kei cursed softly under her breath, startling a soft laugh from Alec, and then brother and sister lapsed into silence, only broken by Kei's next sentence, spoken into the quiet of the night.

"I'm leaving," she told her brother abruptly, who looked up, shock and surprise evident on his face. "I'm tired of these balls and the entire court, and I want to be Shang! So I've made up my mind to leave the palace," she said, gesturing to the glittering structure. Alec made to protest, but she waved it aside.

"Hush," she ordered, "I've made up my mind, and no one, not even you, is going to stop me." Her eyes were grave, and flashed with determination. Alec knew he didn't have a chance to stop her, not when she was this set in her decision. Kei saw the worry and sadness in his eyes as he looked at her, and she smiled sadly.

"Don't worry," she told him, "I'll disguise myself, and I'll have Tacy and Whisper with me." Alec started to protest again, but Kei cut him off.

"Enough," she told him, voice breaking slightly with emotion. She leaned forward, glowing in the moonlight. "Don't come after me," she warned her brother, "I aim to become a Shang warrior, and I will, by whatever means I can." Alec nodded slowly, accepting her decision. She gave him a final sad, sweet smile, and kissed his cheek.

"Good-bye," she whispered softly, and just a softly and silently she slid down the tree, with only the rustling of the leaves to mark that she had been there.

* * *

Alec watched the silent figure head for the stables, and before she disappeared into the shadows, a lithe, cat-like shape streaked out of the bushes and leapt into her arms. Alec blinked back the sudden tears at his sister's departure, and when he looked again, she was gone.

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**A/N: So, that was chapter 2. Good, bad? Tell me what you think by pushing that little purple button down there! Review please, and no flames!**

**Purple Eyed Cat**


	5. Chapter 3

**A/N: Hey all, so sorry I'm updating so late; I have been on a trip and I didn't get a chance to update this before I left. Here is Chapter 3, and I hope to have Chapter 4 up soon! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: The things you don't recognize belong to me. The things you do belong to Tamora Pierce. **

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 3

"Hush, girl, come on." Kei nudged Whisper onward, deeper into the dark forest. The mare snorted in protest but continued to pick her way delicately through the trees. As the dappled gray mare continued, Kei let her mind wander.

After she had made the split-second decision to leave the palace, Kei had told Alec. The look on her brother's face broke her heart, but she had to leave. She was feeling too stifled in the palace atmosphere, and her ultimate goal was to be a Shang master. After leaving her brother, she had snuck into the stables, where she kept her spare set of clothes. Her saddlebags were already packed for the journey, and after changing out of her ball gown, it was quick work to saddle Whisper and leave through the servants' entrance. She had ridden through Corus in the dead of night, and after stopping at an inn earlier to stock up on supplies, had ridden on.

A twig snapping in the brush made Kei snap back to where she was, leaving the memories behind. Alert now, she swiftly petted the golden tabby that sat in front of her on the saddle as she quickly checked the placement of her daggers. One dagger rested in a flat sheath, which hung around her neck next to her cat pendant, while two others were in wrist sheaths. Four more daggers rested in secret compartments in her saddlebags; whoever captured her would be unable to find the daggers unless she told them where to look. She had one dagger in each boot, and one more dagger hung in open sight on her belt. She was well armed, and wasn't worried about her horse getting stolen; Whisper had been raised from a filly by Kei, and besides, she had been trained to fight.

The noise came again, and Tacy sat up, green eyes wide, scanning the trees around them. Kei silently cursed the conditions she was in. It was the dead of night; no one would be able to hear her. When Tacy hissed warningly at the trees, Kei slid from the saddle, her brown tunic and breeches helping her blend into the trees around her. With one last defiant hiss at the trees, Tacy leapt off the saddle and followed her mistress. Whisper shied slightly, disturbed by the lack of weight, but then she snorted again and stood still, ears brought forward to catch the light sounds of footsteps coming towards her.

Kei watched, hardly daring to breathe as five men exited the woods and headed for her horse. She watched as they stopped, obviously puzzled by the dappled gray mare with no rider. Her eyes still on the strange men, she slipped her hand down her leg and found the hilt of one of her daggers where it jutted up from her boot top. Grasping the dagger firmly, she slid it out of her boot and transferred it from her left hand to her right, even though she could fight just as well with her left.

One of the men stepped forward and tried to grab Whisper's reins. The dappled gray mare shied from his touch, and lunged forward, teeth bared. The man yelped in fright as he hastily backed away from the mare's teeth. His companions' laughter rippled through the clearing, and Whisper snorted and laced her ears back, surprised at the sudden noise. One of the man's companions gazed around the clearing, and a look of confusion crossed his face. He turned to his companion, the one who had tried to grab Whisper. "Where'd she go, Brock?" He asked, his voice a soft but menacing growl that Kei heard from where she was hidden.

"I don't know, Kaleb!" The one called Brock snapped back. "She couldn't have gotten far," he continued, "we saw her right after she stopped."

Kei gripped her dagger tighter and looked carefully. She knew that she couldn't take on all five at once, that much was certain. She would have to make sure she didn't give away her position and take them down one at a time. One of the men had his back directly to her: he would make for an easy target. To her surprise, just as she took aim, he spoke up.

"She might be--" Brock and his companions turned to see what the man had to say, but his sentence ended in a gurgle. He fell forward, a dagger sticking out of the middle of his back.

Kei grinned slightly to herself as she grabbed the second dagger out of her boot. A perfect shot. Her friend Swift would be proud. Kei forced herself to snap out of it at Brock's next words. Her life could still be in danger. Brock spoke to his men, and while his voice didn't rise above a whisper, Kei heard him clearly.

"Spread out," he said, a slow grin forming on his features, "she's close."

At this, Kei moved silently through the trees, Tacy at her side. She was desperate to get to her mare. If she could get to Whisper, and take one or two of the men out at the same time, she could get away. Spotting a man with his back turned, Kei aimed and threw her second dagger at his back. The man turned too late at his friends' shouts, and the dagger buried itself in his back. The man staggered forward, and then collapsed.

Brock turned and glared into the trees, his pale gray eyes seeming to bore into Kei and see right through her, freezing her where she stood. He lifted his hand and pointed directly at her. "In there." He said calmly, and at this, the men converged on the place he had pointed at.

Kei jumped up from where she was crouched and began to run. She was running blindly now, running to get away from the men who were chasing her. If she had been thinking straight, she would have seen the shadow that detached itself from the trees in front of her and placed itself in her path. She would have seen the cloth the man held loosely in his hand. As it was, she did not realize what had happened until the cloth had covered her mouth and nose, and her screams were cut off. The smell of the potion on the cloth numbed her senses, and slowly, everything went dark.

* * *

Kaelyn stifled a scream as strong hand closed around her upper arm. A candle was brought close to her face; a moment later, its owner cursed and the candle retreated. Kaelyn blinked as more lights were lit, and seconds later, Jamal's frowning face was in front of hers.

"What in Mithros's name are you doing here, Kaelyn?" Jamal demanded, brown eyes smoldering. Kaelyn blinked for a moment more, then answered her brother.

"Borrowing clothes." She said simply, unable to tell him more. Jamal's expression went from angry to incredulous in a heartbeat.

"You're—you're borrowing my clothes?" He managed, almost doubled over with laughter.

Kaelyn drew herself up taller and gave him a dignified nod. "That's right," she told her brother, "I need your clothes."

Jamal's laughter stopped short: he had caught sight of the breeches, tunics, and shirts that his sister had bundled together. "You really are borrowing my clothes," he said, sounding somewhat surprised.

Kaelyn sighed; her brother could be so thick sometimes. "Yes," she told him, sounding slightly irritated, "I need your clothes. Can I go now?"

Jamal gazed at her for a moment, then motioned to the chair next to the fire. "Sit, Lyn," he told her, "and tell me what exactly you need my clothes for." Kaelyn sighed in frustration, but the look in her brother's dark eyes brooked no room for argument. Silently, she sank in the proffered chair, and as her brother settled into a char opposite her, Amaya jumped into her lap, curling up. The look in Jamal's eyes prompted her to begin, and with a moment's hesitation, she did.

"I'm helping with a rescue attempt," she told him, her soft murmur barely heard over the crackle of the fire.

"Rescue attempt?" Jamal's eyes narrowed dangerously, and Kaelyn hesitated, but decided to throw caution into the wind and continued anyway.

"Yes, a rescue attempt," she told her brother, and when he said nothing, she continued. "Alec and I are going to search for Lady Keianna, because Alec is afraid that--" Jamal interrupted her, brown eyes once again smoldering.

"Alec who?" Jamal asked, his voice a low growl, and Kaelyn gulped. She had called Alec by his informal name, when she should have used his full title. She opened her mouth to speak, but her brother wasn't done yet.

"Who is this Lady Keianna?" Jamal asked as Kaelyn sighed and slumped back into the chair.

"Are you going to let me tell my story or not?" She demanded, green eyes gleaming in the light of the fire.

Jamal sighed and motioned for her to continue. Kaelyn stiffly nodded her thanks, and told him, "Alec is Sir Alec of Cavas Hill, and he befriended me on the night we were presented to the court. That same night, as you have heard, his younger sister, the Lady Keianna, disappeared. He has become increasingly worried about her, and he has had no word from her yet."

Kaelyn's green eyes softened with sympathy and affection as she spoke of Alec's worries. Jamal was not blind to this, and it unnerved him to see his younger sister falling for some unknown knight so quickly. As for Lady Keianna, Jamal had seen her only once, catching a glimpse of her during the ball. She had stood aloof, away from the others, and even from across the dance floor he could tell that she did not want to be there. For a moment, he had thought that she was his sister, they were so alike. He almost went over to her, until he noticed that her eyes, hair and dress were different. She had intrigued him; from what he had seen and heard after her disappearance, she was something of a rebel, wanting to take up the fighting arts.

Kaelyn watched her brother stare into the fire, lost in thought, and after a moment he turned to her. "So you need my clothes to disguise yourself as a boy," he said bluntly, and Kaelyn nodded mutely. Jamal stood up and walked silently over to where his weapons were kept. Kaelyn watched this with wide green eyes, and just as her brother went back to his room to change, someone knocked on the door.

Jamal paused on his way to the bedroom and glanced at the door, an eyebrow raised. Looking from Kaelyn to the door, he nodded shortly and disappeared into his room. Kaelyn made her way to the door, opening it to reveal Alec of Cavas Hill, dressed in riding gear and holding two packed saddle bags. Kaelyn gave him a slight grin, and he grinned at her in reply. She stepped back and let him into the room, where silence reigned until Jamal returned, dressed as Alec was and carrying his own laden saddle bags.

Kaelyn took one look at him and burst out, "You can't be serious!"

Jamal glanced at her and asked mildly, "What am I not serious about?"

Kaelyn glared, retorting, "I thought this was a rescue mission, not a leisurely ride!"

Jamal just stared back at her for a moment before replying, "You need me to come along, and there is no way I am letting you leave the palace without my supervision."

Kaelyn met his determined gaze for a moment, and then dropped her eyes to the floor in defeat. Jamal nodded curtly to Alec, introducing himself as "Lord Jamal."

Alec bowed, replying, "Milord, I am Sir Alec of Cavas Hill."

Jamal let a wry grin creep across his stoic face. "So I've heard."

Alec glanced up, blue eyes twinkling. "You've heard of me?" He asked, face straight, but his tone gave away his amusement as he and Jamal stared at Kaelyn until she blushed.

"Alright!" She snapped, the annoyance clear in her voice. "I'll change, and then we are leaving." She glared at Alec. "We're supposed to be rescuing your sister, not sitting here gossiping!"

At the mention of Kei, the grin slid right off Alec's face, and he nodded shortly. Kaelyn disappeared for a moment, but then she was back, wearing a shirt, tunic, breeches, and boots, while her hair was pinned up and hidden under a serving boy's cap. Both men glanced at her, and followed as she led the way towards the stables.

The three riders came across the clearing just as the sun was breaking over the trees. The light of the sun stained the corpses on the ground a bright red, brighter than the blood that covered the ground. Kaelyn gasped at the sight that lay before her, while Jamal muttered an oath and drew his horse to a sudden halt, brown eyes wide. Alec drew his dark bay stallion to a halt and dismounted. Striding over to one of the bodies, he crouched down and examined the hilt that rested in the man's back before wrenching it free.

"Kei," he murmured grimly, showing his companions the design on the hilt. Alec looked around saw that the other man also had another dagger with the same design in his back. "She was here," he told the other two nobles, "but she was taken," he followed the tracks that he found to an imprint of a body that was still on the wet ground. Alec studied the ground for only a moment before he recognized his sister's form.

"Men took her," he murmured, blue eyes hard. Kaelyn dismounted and came over to him, staring down at the imprint. "I'm sorry," she murmured, laying a hand on her arm.

* * *

Alec opened his mouth, about to say something, when a piteous meow came from the trees. Alec grinned suddenly, and turned. Kaelyn turned around just in time to see a cat come trotting out of the woods, tail held high. Kaelyn vaguely remembered seeing the golden tabby somewhere before, but when the tabby looked up at her, she gasped as her hand found its way to the chain around her neck.

The golden tabby was the same as her pendant. The same green eyes, the same imperious stance, and those green eyes seemed to look through her, the same way her pendant did. Alec seemed oblivious to her gasp, and he rushed forward, looking delighted to see the cat.

"Tacy!" He murmured, striding over to gather the cat in his arms. He turned, and the cat's purring reverberated through the clearing. Kaelyn saw that his blue eyes shone, and he looked as happy as if he had found his sister.

* * *

"Alec?" Kaelyn asked, curious.

Alec glanced at her, blue eyes gleaming. "This is Tacy," he told the raven-haired woman, "and my sister's constant companion. If she's here, then my sister must be somewhere nearby, along with her horse."

As if in affirmation of this statement, a whinny rang through the clearing, and all three nobles turned to see a dappled gray mare following the cat's trail. Alec's blue eyes dulled and his grin disappeared as he noticed what the others had: the horse bore a saddle and saddlebags, but no rider.

"Whisper," Alec crooned, stepping forward to grab the horse's reins and leading her forward. He lifted the flap of one of the saddlebags and peered inside, and then cursed softly.

As Kaelyn and Jamal looked on, Alec led Whisper to his stallion and tied her reins to his saddle. He turned to Kaelyn, and taking her hand, led her to her black mare. He helped her into the saddle, and then turned and mounted his stallion. Without a word, all three riders rode out of the clearing, following the mysterious trail the captors had left.

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**A/N: So, good, bad, not so good? Tell me what you think and please review! No flames please! **

**Purple Eyed Cat**


	6. Chapter 4

**A/N: So sorry for not updating for so long, but I have had writer's block for a while. Chapter5 should beup soon.Happy Thanksgiving everyone andenjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing except the plot and the characters you don't recognize. Everything else belongs to Tamora Pierce. **

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 4

Stifling a groan, Kei's eyes fluttered open. Still groggy from the potion, she gazed at the campsite around her dazedly as her head pounded. The rough bark against her back shot through the searing pain in her head, and brought her back to reality. Clear-headed now, she looked around in interest. Her three captors sat around the fire, warming themselves and talking in low murmurs. While their attention was diverted, Kei took the opportunity to survey her situation.

She was tied to a large oak tree in a kneeling position. Experimentally, she twisted her hands that were bound behind her to the trunk, but just succeeded in digging the rope deeper into her skin. Biting her lip at the stinging pain of the rough rope, Kei twisted her hands again, to see if she could loosen the knots, but to no avail. Leaving the rope for later, she surveyed the campsite. She was at the far end of the campsite, in a small clearing. The fire was at the center, with the men grouped around it. Their packs and weapons were lying on the ground, and Kei was surprised to see that they carried bows as well as swords and daggers. Knowing that she couldn't get to them at the moment, Kei turned her attention to herself.

She was fine; she had not been harmed in any way by her captors, which didn't surprise her; she knew that men did not hurt their captive if someone was willing to pay a large sum for her to be brought to them unharmed. Her daggers were gone, but she had been expecting that; no self-respecting captor would leave a prisoner armed. Her pendant was still there, she was relieved to find, but one glance towards the men's horses told that her own horse was not among them, and neither was her cat. Now that she was reassured about her current situation, Kei was presented with another problem: how to get out of her current situation.

She shifted again, thinking, but soon regretted it. Her knee pressed hard against one of the small twigs that had fallen from the tree near her, and the snapping noise that followed rang through the clearing, shooting through the men's conversation.

All three looked towards her, and Kei stared back. A pair of gray eyes drew her gaze, and Kei gulped as Brock's cold gray eyes met her own. He stood up, a menacing grin stretching across his features as he made his way towards her, in no apparent hurry. Kei glared as he came closer and closer, until he finally stared down at her.

"Well, well, well," he chuckled softly, "Look what we have here, lads! The princess is awake!" One of the men laughed, but the other, whom Kei recognized as Kaleb, merely frowned.

"Don't call her that, Brock," he snapped, also standing up. "You'll give things away, and she's not to know of those plans until we arrive at our destination." He gave Kei such a loathing look that she trembled in spite of glaring up at him.

"But she really is a princess," the other man protested, swinging his head from one companion to the other, confusion written across his face. He didn't seem to notice the glares Kaleb was giving him, and he continued. "Her and that other girl," he said, glancing at Kei, "they is princesses, and we're 'apposed to bring them to the border, but—"

At this, Kaleb had apparently had enough. He was at the man's side in two strides, and in doing so, brought his dagger up to the other man's throat with a silent grace that even Kei had to admire. The man eyed Kaleb, and then the blade pressing softly against his pulse, and then at Kaleb again.

"Shut up, you fool!" Kaleb snapped, "do you want her to know everything that we plan to do?"

The man spluttered wordless for a moment, then shook his head in response, eyes wide. Kaleb pressed a little harder with his blade to make his point, but then removed the dagger and crossed back to Brock's side, who had watched all this with glittering gray eyes.

"Now," Kaleb murmured, glancing down at Kei again, as Brock followed suit, "where were we?"

Kei glared at them both, still not saying a word. She knew better than to speak, but she twisted her hands quickly, fervently wishing that she could break the ropes. At her neck, the chain began to pulse with a blue light. Kei glanced down in surprise to find that the blue light was radiating from her cat pendant. The men in front of her seemed to notice nothing was the blue light ran down her arms, followed by a tingling feeling. Kei felt her hands grow hot as the rope suddenly snapped, and with the snapping noise, the men in front of her noticed something was wrong.

They noticed a moment too late, for Kei, with her Shang-honed reflexes, was already on her feet, wary, ready for the imminent fight. Both men stared at her for a moment, confusion written across her features. Brock started forward, but Kei's fist shot out, taking him down with a well aimed punch at his temple. Brock slumped to the ground, unconscious or dead, Keianna couldn't tell. She felt slightly revolted with herself for what she had done. That was the first time she had used those moves for self-defense, every other time had been in practice. But she had no more time to think; two men still remained.

Kaleb came after her, two glittering daggers at his sides. Kei watched the daggers apprehensively, and when he raised them to strike, she slipped out his range and snatched up two of the daggers that were lying around in plain sight. She brought hers up to parry with his, but one slipped through her defenses and left a very long, deep gash along her right arm.

Kei faltered, feeling faint at the blood that was dripping from her arm, but Kaleb came at her again. She dropped the dagger that she was holding in her right hand—it wouldn't do for her to get the hilt all bloody and have it slip out of her hand—and stopped his next blow with the one she still held in her left. Kaleb pressed down on their locked blades, his weight forcing her down towards the ground. Having no other choice, Kei disengaged and moved again, this time towards the trees. Kaleb's glittering blue eyes followed her, and he stepped forward, taking a second swipe, this time at her other arm, hoping to cause her to drop her remaining dagger. He stepped forward again, hoping to lock blades again so he could pressure her to drop her weapon. He never got the chance.

Kei was ready to defend herself when her ears perked up at the familiar singing noise of an arrow as it whistles through the air. A moment later, Kaleb froze, eyes wide, and fell forward, the arrow buried deep in his back. The dagger slid from his hand to the ground, but before it hit the dust, Kei snatched it up and looked around. Brock was out, Kaleb was dead, and the other man was also dead, an arrow lodged his back. Looking around for who had saved her life, Kei found them.

Across the clearing, three hooded figures surveyed her. They sat tall in the saddle, and their warhorses shifted beneath them. Two were armed with swords, and the third was armed with a bow.

Dizzily, but still determined, Kei tightened her grip on the two daggers, swaying slightly from the blood loss in her arm. The figure lifted the crossbow to land its sights directly at her chest. Kei lifted her daggers, showing these silent figures that she wasn't willing to go without a fight. She swayed again, her legs threatening to buckle. The figure slowly lowered the crossbow, and even though Keianna was too far away to see, she could have sworn that she read concern on the shadowy features. She felt the blood run down her arm, warm, sticky, and wet, and swayed again, longer this time, fighting to stay upright. Her body won over her mind, and her legs folded. As she hit the earth, darkness clouded her vision, and Kei's eyes fluttered shut for the second time, she saw the figures approach her, she felt arms lift her up, and then she knew no more.

* * *

Kaelyn watched as Alec and her brother carefully carried Lady Keianna towards her. She may have looked calm on the outside, but on the inside, her mind was in turmoil. She was still turning over the events of the day in her mind. She needed time to think, to reflect, but right now was not the time. She watched as Whisper watched her mistress's body, stretching her tether as far as it would go when Kei came within range.

The mare sniffed Kei's body, and then shied slightly as Alec and Jamal lifted the body onto her back. Tacy appeared out of nowhere, pawing at Keianna's body and mewing softly. Kaelyn started as Amaya moved silently to the other cat's side and began washing her. Kaelyn's attention was dragged away from this touching sight by the sudden flare of heat from her pendant. She lifted it out and inspected it. As before, the golden cat's eyes flared with a green light. A soft glow of blue light made Kaelyn look up, and she noticed that Keianna glowed with a blue light that seemed to come from a chain around her neck, but only for a moment, and then the light was extinguished. Kaelyn shook her head, drawing her hood farther over her head, and followed her companions in silence as they melted into the shadows.

* * *

**A/N: Well, that's all for Chapter 4. I'm sorry Kaelyn's point of view is so short, but like I said, I had writer's block. Please review!**


	7. Chapter 5

**A/N: I'm back, and thanks to all my reviewers! Sorry for taking so long to update, I've been busy. Here's chapter 5, and enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: This belongs to Tamora Pierce, not me. **

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 5

Something large and soft pressed against Kei's face, over and over again, insistently. Kei swatted at the thing, half-conscious, but when the nudging was followed but something rough being passed over her face, Kei gave up on sleep. She sat up, and almost immediately slumped back down, the stinging pain in her arm jolting her back to reality. She brushed her long black hair out of her face as she was nudged one more time.

Blinking, she was confronted with a large gray nose being shoved in the middle of her chest, and soft dark eyes gazed at her. Kei grinned and wrapped her arms around her horse's neck. Whisper nudged her again, and Kei laughed, scratching her horse's nose. The mare backed up, and Kei sat up, trying to ignore the pain in her arm. She pushed herself into a squatting position, and placing one hand on Whisper's back for support, slowly got to her feet, fighting dizziness.

Once on her feet, Kei was distracted as a golden blur leaped for her shoulder and proceeded to groom her face and hair with her tongue. "Tacy," Kei murmured, drawing the cat away from her face and cuddling her. The golden tabby purred, green eyes glowing. Still stroking Tacy, Keianna looked around. This clearing was no different from the other one she had escaped, and there was no sign of her new captors.

A deep snort made Kei jump and whirl around, wary at this disturbance. She relaxed slightly as a small group of horses came into her view, tethered to the trees at one end of the clearing. All three horses watched her, and Kei watched them, assuming these were her captor's horses. One of the horses looked familiar, and as Kei walked towards them, she was sure that one of the horses was her brother's.

"'Zee?" She asked in disbelief, moving slowly up to the horses as not to frighten them. The bay stallion snorted, and shied as she reached out, but calmed under her familiar hand. She stroked his head, pushing his forelock back in order to see the white star that marked his brow. Certain now that it was her brother's horse, Keianna crooned, "Ohanzee, how did they get a hold of you? Did they take you away? Where's Alec?" The stallion just stared at her, relaxing under her soft caresses.

Moving away from the bay for a moment, Kei inspected the other two horses. There was a chestnut stallion that eyed her for a moment before grazing again, and a black mare that watched her, ears pricked. A nudge in the back brought Kei's attention to her own mare, who seemed to be eyeing her reproachfully. Kei realized with surprise and dismay that Whisper was still tacked up, and she hurried to undo the saddle, ignoring the pain in her arm as she worked.

Quickly checking her saddle bags to make sure her hidden daggers were still there, Kei found that they daggers she had lost were cleaned and there also. She quickly donned them, making sure she was well armed. Sliding the saddle off of the mare's back, she placed it on the ground before undoing the bridle and slipping the bit out of Whisper's mouth and reins over her head. Free, Whisper dropped her head to graze as footsteps alerted Kei to the fact that she had company. Gathering Tacy in her arms, she slid back into the foliage, keeping still. A figure appeared out of the trees across the clearing, carrying a bundle of firewood to feed the fire that was growing dim.

Turning his back turned to her, busy feeding the fire, Kei fingered the dagger hilt at her belt, ready to pull it out. As the man turned, Kei choked back a cry—her captor was Jamal of the Copper Isles.

* * *

Kaelyn was busy washing her breeches and shirt out in the stream not far from the camp when Alec joined her. He watched her for a moment, a amused smile on his face and she grimaced, imagining what she must look like: black hair tumbling out of her bun in twenty different directions, the breeches and shirt that she was wearing at the moment travel-worn and dirty, green eyes tired. Alec's smile widened, at she twisted around to look up at him.

"What?" she asked, slightly defensive. Alec knelt down at her side, and taking the wet shirt from her, helped her to her feet.

"I was just imagining what my older sister would say if she was forced to wash her clothes," Alec told her. Kaelyn, remembering the older girl from the ball, shivered.

"In the Copper Isles, we were taught to take care of ourselves," Kaelyn told him, suddenly defensive. She stroked Amaya, who had found the familiar perch of her shoulder after a short hunting excursion.

Alec nodded. "I can tell," he said, grinning. "I imagine that your childhood would have been interesting."

Kaelyn grinned at him, green eyes sparkling. "Well, it was never boring when I was growing up," she admitted. She was about to tell him more about her life in the Copper Isles when her cat pendant's eyes glowed green. For once, her pendant rested on top of her shirt, not beneath it—it had fallen out as had she leaned over the stream and she had forgotten to tuck it back beneath her shirt—and so Alec noticed. The pendant grew hot again, and for some inexplicable reason, just like before, Kaelyn knew that Lady Keianna had woken up and was in trouble.

"Your sister is awake," she informed Alec, who, a moment before, had been staring at her necklace in confusion. At this, he looked up, blue eyes hopeful, and turned in direction of their camp. Kaelyn's next words stopped him in his tracks.

"She's in trouble," she told him, and Alec spun around to stare at her, blue eyes fearful, as Kaelyn nodded solemnly. Alec turned and fled back in the direction he had come, fear added speed to his step as he raced to save his sister from whatever danger she had gotten herself into.

* * *

Kei watched Jamal from the shadows of the trees as she chewed her lip, trying to decide what to do. She couldn't attack him, that was for certain, but she needed to know where her brother was. She didn't have to kill him; she could question him. In the end, desperation to know where her brother was won out over infatuation. Kei slid out from behind the trees and silently walked forward toward Jamal. His back was turned; he was once again tending the fire. She was about to slip her arm around his shoulders and place the dagger at his neck when he turned.

Brown eyes met blue, wide in surprise and shock. He looked at her, and then the blade, brown eyes almost fearful. Kei lowered the blade slightly, uncertain, and he made to take the dagger out of her hand, but she jerked the dagger out of his range, lifting it again. His brown eyes narrowed, and she knew that he was going to try something. A sharp intake of breath behind her made Kei hesitate, and Jamal's eyes left her face and focused on someone behind her, looking almost relieved.

Kei spun around, blade raised against this new threat, but she gasped as she saw who was there. Blue eyes wide, the dagger slipped from her grasp as she stared at her brother. Alec stared back at her, blue eyes shocked, brown hair mussed, as if he had been running. He was breathing hard, but his voice was quiet as he said her name. "Kei…"

That sound floated in the air between them, and suddenly Kei flung herself across the space to embrace her brother. He was solid and real and smelled like Alec. As his arms wound around her, wonderfully tight, Kei felt, for a moment, that she was home.

* * *

**A/N: So, did you like it? I know, kind of short, but it'll get more interesting as time goes on, I promise! Please review!**


	8. Chapter 6

**A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers! Here is Chapter 6! Things are getting a bit more interesting, but things won't really fall into place until next chapter. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: The new characters are mine. The world is Tamora Pierce's. **

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 6

The stars glittered in the night sky as the fall wind blew through trees that were just beginning to change colors. The trees swayed softly, and the wind quieted, but it was the beginning of fall, and a slight chill clung to the air and the ground.

Keianna tossed and turned in her bedroll, trying to ignore the restlessness that had been building ever since she had lain down to sleep, but theit persisted.

Giving up on sleep, Keianna rolled out of her bedroll, careful not to wake the others, and slid into her boots. Standing up, she brushed the raven black hair out of her face. Kei stood quietly for a moment, the restlessness stilled as she stared up at the pocket of starry sky that stared down, surrounded by the treetops. But then the restlessness stirred again, and she silently made her way towards the towering oak tree that stood at the far side of the copse they were camped in. Glad that she was wearing breeches and a shirt, Kei pulled herself easily onto the lower branches, and began her upward ascent.

* * *

Kaelyn awoke with a start as her cat pendant pulsed softly with heat, not urgently this time, like it had twice before. She had often puzzled over the fact that her pendant seemed to heat up when Lady Keianna was around, but she could never make head or tail of it, so she let it be. Groggily, she sat up from where she slept between Alec and Jamal, and looked around, brushing hair out of her face as she did so. She glanced over at Lady Keianna's bedroll, and as she suspected, the other girl was nowhere to be seen. Kaelyn got up cautiously, not wanting to wake her brother or Alec, and found her boots. Putting them on, she looked around. She watched as Tacy, the golden cat, raced towards a towering tree at the end of the copse, and she watched, astonished, as Amaya got up and followed.

Intrigued, Kaelyn began to follow, but a deep snort stopped her. She turned to where they had tied their horses the night before, and made her way to where her black mare was.

"Shhh, Nisha," she crooned softly, rubbing her horse's nose, "quiet now."

A nudge at her elbow drew her attention to her brother's chestnut stallion Kamali, a tall horse who would tolerate you for only a few seconds unless he trusted you. Petting the stallion, Kaelyn slowly moved away, trying to not to spook Lady Keianna's Whisper, or Alec's bay stallion.

Setting out on her original journey, Kaelyn crossed softly to the base of the tree, peering up into the branches, wondering how Lady Keianna had managed to climb such a towering giant.

* * *

Keianna pushed the last few branches aside and found herself looking up at the starry sky. She settled onto a thick branch, the restlessness finally subsiding as she found herself faced with such a familiar view. The sliver of a moon gave off a weak light, but it was enough to see by. A purr distracted Keiher thoughts,and with a small smile, she picked up Tacy. Another cat slid into view, and Kei frowned slightly. She had seen such a cat before, but where? The cat was black, that much she could tell, and it had a sprinkling of white hairs dusted onto its back. The cat turned towards her, and in the weak moonlight, Kei caught the color of its eyes.

She gasped, leaning back in surprise, and almost succeeded in tumbling off her branch. Steadying herself, she instinctively grasped the fine silver chain at her neck, and pulled her pendant out from beneath her shirt. The same sapphire eyes sparkled at her in the moonlight, and except for the white hairs, the two cats were the same. Feeling the blood drain from her face, Kei almost missed the soft whisper that floated up to her on the cold fall wind.

"Lady Keianna?" It was Kaelyn.

* * *

"Lady Keianna?" Kaelyn called tentatively, wondering if the other girl was even up there. A rustling of leaves was her answer, and so, throwing caution into the wind, she began to climb. She slid a few times, not at all used to climbing trees, but thanks to her training in the fighting arts, she managed to make to the top before she fell.

Kei shifted, listening to Lady Kaelyn work her way up the tree. Kei watched as the other girl slipped, green eyes wide, and lost her grip. Holding on with one hand, Kaelyn clung to the bark, afraid of the horrific drop that she faced if she let go. Her hand slipped again, and she whimpered, afraid to make any more noise. Seeing the other girl's fear, Kei reached out a hand and grabbed the girl's hand just as it slipped from the bark, hauling her up to sit beside her on the large branch.

Kaelyn breathed in deeply, trying to steady her pounding heart. Amaya came over and curled into her lap, and Kaelyn stroked the familiar black fur until she felt calm again. There was silence as both girls gazed up at the starry sky and listened to the wind rustle the leaves in its mad dash through the air.

* * *

Kei started as Kaelyn began to hum a tune that seemed vaguely familiar to her, as if she had heard it before, long ago. The tune tugged at the foggy memories deep at the back of her brain, but the memory refused to be unearthed. Kei listened to the end of the song, and then turned to the other girl.

"Where did you learn that tune?" She asked, and Kaelyn seemed surprised.

"I don't know," she admitted, avoiding Kei's gaze. "I made it up."

Kei shook her head. "If you made it up, then why do I recognize it?"

Kaelyn looked puzzled for a moment; then she shook her head. "I don't know, Lady Keianna."

Kei grimaced, annoyed by the title. She turned to the other girl and looked her straight in the eye for the first time. "I don't use titles, Kaelyn," she said firmly, deliberately using the girl's name, not her title. Kei continued, "Seeing as we are out here with each other for as long as our journey lasts, I would appreciate if you would call me Kei."

* * *

Kaelyn sat and thought about this. Call an unknown noblewoman by her name not her title? She looked up, and matched Kei's blue-gray eyes with her green ones. "I will try to remember that, Kei," she said, amusement creeping into her voice as she remembered something Alec had told her once.

Kei smiled, but then cocked her head and looked at her companion, who seemed to find something amusing. "What?" she asked, feeling slightly defensive.

The other girl turned to her green eyes sparkling with mirth in the weak moonlight. "Alec once told me you were unlike any of the other noblewomen your age," she said, laughter in her voice.

Kei laughed at this, and admitted ruefully, "That is something Alec would say about me."

Both girls grinned at each other in mutual amusement, and then both fell silent, lost in their own thoughts. Neither of the two girls noticed that while they were both stroking their cats, their hands rose and fell with each stroke in a steady, matching beat.

* * *

Kei yawned, and felt sleepier than she had when she had lain down to sleep. "Well," she murmured, "I suppose we should go back to sleep before the dawn creeps up on us." She saw Kaelyn glance at the ground from their height and gulp nervously, and she grinned.

"Don't worry," she assured the other girl, "I'll make sure you don't fall." She reached out her hand, and Kaelyn stared at it for a moment. Kei waited, and finally Kaelyn reached out her own hand, so similar to Kei's, and grasped it. Together, two girls and two cats made their way down the tree and back to their bedrolls, into the dark realm of sleep.

* * *

Kaelyn nudged Nisha onward, watching the woods around her warily. I was about midday the next day, and they had continued their journey towards Corus. Keianna rode next to her, wearing a mulish expression. Kaelyn knew that Kei and Alec had argued about going back to Corus, but Kaelyn knew, somehow, that Kei was relieved to going back the royal city. Kaelyn was one with her in that respect, for she missed the grand palace and all it held, including her little sister.

Riding on a little further, she thought she spied something moving in the shadows of the trees a little farther ahead of her. Wordlessly, she grabbed her bow from where it lay slung over her back, and one of the arrows from her quiver. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Jamal and Alec draw their swords simultaneously. Next to her, Kei watched her and then pulled her dagger of its sheath in her belt just as the bandits exploded onto the path in front of them, armed to the teeth with weapons of all kinds.

* * *

Kei watched the bandits spill onto the path, counting twenty. Twenty against four, not very good odds. Pushing Whisper forward, she flung the dagger in her hand at the nearest bandit, killing him instantly. Beside her, she heard the _zing_ of arrows flying as Kaelyn shot arrow after arrow, taking down bandit after bandit. Another time, Kei would have admired her skill with the bow, but she was too preoccupied in finding another dagger.

Grabbing a dagger out of her saddlebags, Kei killed another bandit. Jamal and Alec were beside her now, swords flashing. Kei felt something graze her leg; a bandit had managed to cut her thigh. Ignoring the pain in her thigh as well as the pain in her reopened arm wound, Kei flung her dagger at the man.

Out of twenty bandits, nine remained. Kei killed two, and Jamal and Alec killed another two. Five still remained. Kei twisted around, searching desperately for Kaelyn. For some reason, she felt that the other girl was in danger, and that scared her. Jamal looked at her, the same scared look on his face, and then they found her.

Kaelyn was fighting against the last five bandits. She had managed, during the fighting, to separate herself from the others, and the bandits had surrounded her. At such close range, she could have easily shot them, but one of the bandits had managed to grab her crossbow. Helpless, she was using only a small dagger to defend herself.

* * *

Kei felt the rage boil in her veins at what they were doing to her new-found friend, and from the look on his face, Jamal felt the same. Through her anger, Kei noticed that her pendant was building up a blinding heat, and suddenly, the blue fire grew in the center of her pendant, raced down her arms and pooled into her hands.

Without thinking, without even realizing what she was doing or why she had it, Kei hurled the blue fire at the bandits. In this confusion, no one noticed the figure that had crept out from behind the trees to watch the battle and now stood ready, waiting.

The blue fire roared across the ground, straight towards the bandits. Two were dead immediately before the fire extinguished itself. Kei saw Kaelyn staring at her, wide-eyed, and she felt the other two's stares.

The remaining three bandits stood around in wide-eyed confusion, but before they could move again, the figure had moved. In a blur so fast that they didn't see him before he was on them, the figure landed in the midst of the bandits. What followed was a series of punches and kicks in alightening speed that Kei couldn't follow. She stared in awe as this stranger killed the bandits and stood, barely out of breath before them.

* * *

He glanced at them:wounded and pale Alec and Jamal, shocked and woundedKeianna, and a white and scratchedKaelyn. His eyes flickered over Kei and Kaelyn for a minute, and his face registered surprise, but a moment later the surprise was gone.

He looked them over, and asmall grin crept onto his face. "Welcome." He said simply, and at this, Kei seemed to find her voice.

"Who are you?" She asked, and as he looked at her, recognition seemed to dawn on his face, but he quickly masked it before she could see it.

He fixedthem allwith a piercing stare, and then bowed low toKeianna and Kaelyn, who had moved side by side during the last part of the battle.His gaze traveled between the two of them ashesaid, "Miladies, I am the Shang Wolf."

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? Intriguing?I know, the POV's were really short, and I'll try to make them longer next chapter. Tell me what you think by reviewing!**


	9. Chapter 7

**A/N: Thanks to all my reviewers, and here is the anticipated Chapter 7! This chapter explains a lot, but also raises some new questions. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: None of this world is mine. I'm just planting my characters in it. **

* * *

Silence and Shadows: Chapter 7

Kei wiped the sweat from her forehead and faced the Shang Wolf across from her. His piercing hazel eyes watched her every move as she went through the practice pattern of steps, blocks, punches and kicks. She paused for a moment before jumping, kicking out at neck level with enough force to drive a person backwards. Barefooted, she landed on packed dirt of the practice court, pleased. She had just started to begin the next set of steps when the Shang Wolf stopped her.

Striding forward, he told her, "Keianna, you are relying on those thieves' tricks again."

Kei blushed, ashamed that he had caught her using the tricks that the Rogue in Corus had taught her. She had tried to do the Shang exercises as he had taught her, but as he demanded more of her and the exercise got harder, she found herself relying on the fighting arts the thieves had taught her even more.

She looked up to find the Shang Wolf regarding her critically. The Shang warrior was tall, lean, and stern-faced. His long, graying brown hair was tied in a horse tail, and his hazel eyes seemed to take in everything. He stared at her a moment more, then moved off the practice court. Kei watched him go, wondering if she was done for the day, when he turned back.

"Keianna, practice those new drills I taught you," he instructed, "and try to keep from falling back on your old habits." A wry grin crept onto his face, and at Kei's resigned look, consoled her, "Don't worry, Keianna, you weren't raised to be Shang, so it will take you longer than usual to master the art."

Turning, he left, his bare feet making no sound on the packed dirt of the courtyard. Kei stared after him in wonder. The Shang Wolf, also known as Shyam Alden, had taken them in two weeks ago after the bandit attack. He had told them that he was somewhat of a nobleman, even if he was Shang. His house was what any true nobleman would consider slovenly, but seemed too extravagant forthe commoner-turned-noblemanthat he was.

Turning away, Kei sighed, resigned to her task. Walking over to the canteen that hung on the fence that surrounded the practice court, she splashed some on her sweaty face before drinking almost half of it. Looking around, she noticed a blur of golden fur as Tacy leapt from the fence where she was perched to land at the feet of someone who stepped out of the shadows of the house, towel in hand. The golden tabby wound herself around the person's ankles, and then leapt into his arms. Tacy settled herself comfortably on the shoulder of none other than Lord Jamal, purring.

Kei grinned at the unexpected sight of her cat being so affectionate to anyone other than her or Alec. She grinned up at Jamal, blue-gray sparkling. "Somebody likes you," she commented, and Jamal grinned back, brown eyes amused.

"So it would seem," he answered, petting the purring tabby on his shoulder as the cat watched her mistress with content green eyes.

"You know," Kei observed, "she's not that affectionate to anyone she hasn't seen before; she must have made an exception for you."

Jamal grinned, and Kei's stomach fluttered pleasantly. Strange new feelings had emerged whenever she was around him, and Kei didn't know what quite to make of them or what to do about them.

"Then I must take that exception as an honor," Jamal commented, not seeming to notice Kei's silence, but effectively drawing her mind back to the conversation. "Here." He offered a towel, and Kei accepted it gratefully, blushing as their hands brushed for an instant.

Thanking the gods that her already red face hid the blush, Kei brushed sweat off her forehead, cheeks and nose. Done, she hung the towel over the fence to use for later. Looking up, she noticed Jamal staring at her, the strangest expression in his dark eyes. Kei returned the look, trying not to blush. Jamal reached out a hand and delicately brushed it over her cheek. Kei was too surprised to move away or say anything.

She watched him, blue-gray eyes meeting brown, and Jamal stepped closer to her. Kei watched, unable to do anything, even if she wanted to, numbed by his closeness, and yet, aware of everything around her at the same time. Kei watched him move steadily closer, until he stood mere inches away. He watched her, seeming to look for some signal.

Reaching out with his hand again, he brushed her raven black hair off her face, and Kei stiffened slightly before relaxing again. He had moved closer again, Kei noticed, almost as if in a dream, and she realized that both of his hands had reached out to cup her chin. His face was moving steadily closer to hers, and it seemed like he was going to—

A horse's shrill whinny rang out, breaking the afternoon silence and the raw tension that was in the air. Seeming to come out of a daze, Jamal looked startled and moved away from Keianna as if burned. Kei, after finally remembering to breathe again, watched him go, her stomach fluttering madly. Jamal didn't look at her as he gently deposited Tacy on the ground and left as silently as he had come.

Kei gazed after him, wondering what had just happened and what exactly was going on. A sharp claw in her ankle made her look down. Tacy stood there, staring up at her mistress with an almost accusatory look in her green eyes. Kei gazed back at her cat and suddenly felt defensive. Sighing, she broke the staring match and turned back to practice court, beginning her original assignment, her mind whirling.

* * *

Not too far away, Kaelyn strolled through the rose garden that Shyam Alden had cultivated, enjoying the scent of hundreds of perfumed roses in the air. Walking down the garden path, she managed to find a familiar handsome young man, who was sitting on a nearby bench, reading a book. 

Kaelyn grinned and sat down next to Alec, who didn't seem to notice her until she cleared her throat. At the interruption, he looked up, and smiled. Kaelyn offered a soft smile, trying to ignore the feeling that erupted in her stomach every time Alec was around.

"Isn't it nice here?" Alec asked, and Kaelyn nodded her agreement.

"The better question is, will Kei ever want to leave?" She grinned, expecting Alec to share her amusement, but for once, he looked solemn.

"I don't know," he answered quietly. "She has wanted to be Shang for so long, I don't know if she will ever want to leave. It has already been too long since we left Corus."

"Surely she won't want to stay here until she is a true Shang?" Kaelyn asked, and Alec shook his head.

"I don't know," he shrugged. "She might. Once she gets an idea in her head, she doesn't usually let it go."

They sat in silence for a moment until Alec turned to Kaelyn, blue eyes serious. "Kaelyn, what are you going to do when we get back to Corus?"

Now it was Kaelyn's turn to shake her head. "I don't know. I will probably leave with the rest of the delegation for the Copper Isles."

Alec took Kaelyn's hands in his own, blue eyes sincere. "I would miss you," he told her truthfully as she blushed. Green eyes met blue, and Kaelyn saw that he meant what he said.

"I would miss you too," she told him, and Alec's eyes brightened. Blushing againunder Alec's strong gaze, Kaelyn tried to quell the fluttering in her stomach. Alec leaned forward, watching her with bright blue eyes, and instinctively, Kaelyn leaned forward too. Their lips were about to meet when—

"Kaelyn!" Flustered, Kaelyn pulled away, gazing over Alec's shoulder to see her brother, looking a little flustered himself. She glanced at Alec before going over to Jamal. Was it just her, or did Alec's eyes show a distinct disappointment at the interruption?

Moving to her brother's side, she looked him over. He looked flustered, and almost guilty. He bowed to Alec as the Tortallan stood up, and apologized, "Alec, I'm sorry for stealing my sister away, but I need to talk to her."

Alec's face was unreadable as he replied. "Of course, milord, she is your sister after all." At Kaelyn's puzzled look, he grinned at her, and she smiled in return before following her brother into the Shang Wolf's home.

* * *

Slumping down into an armchair by the fire in the library, Kei almost felt guilty about what she was doing, but her need for a rest overpowered her common sense. Slouching down, she made sure that no one had seen her come in. She was hiding from the Shang Wolf, because after two weeks of Shang practice, she was getting tired of the incessant practices. While one part of her head argued that it was for her own good, this is what she wanted, another part of her just wanted abreak from the grueling practices. 

Kei jumped about a foot when Kaelyn appeared next to her. One look at Kei's shushing motions and scared face told Kaelyn all she needed to know. She grinned, asking, "Hiding?"

Kei nodded, getting up to close the door. When she came back, Kaelyn was poring over the stack of books on the low table. One in particular seemed to have caught her eye, and she pulled it out. As Kei came to her side, she revealed the title: _The Royal Families of Tyra: Past to Present. _

Kei snorted. "A history book?" She asked incredulously.

Kaelyn glared at her. "This is interesting, you'll see," she promised, and flipping open to the first page began to read. "The history of the Tyran royal families began in 100, when the country was formed. At that time—"

Kei interrupted. "Can we skip to the current royal family? Learning about the present ones always interested me the most."

Kaelyn glared at her again, annoyed at being interrupted, but nonetheless flipped to one of the last chapters of the book. Kei settled down in her armchair, feeling the fire's warmth and strangely soothed by Kaelyn's voice.

"The history of the current royal family of Tyra is shrouded in mystery," she began, "and there is a great uproar about who is to be on the throne. The king, Francis—" she stopped and looked at Kei.

"Now why does that name seem familiar?" She wondered, and Kei looked up, also puzzled by the familiarity of the name.

"I don't know," she shrugged. "Maybe you read in a book somewhere."

Kaelyn kept on reading. "He died recently, two years after his beloved queen and wife, Aminia." She stopped again, and looked at Kei, frustrated.

"Now I know that name has not been mentioned at the peace talks," she mused, "so why does it seem so familiar?"

Kei once again shrugged, but memories seemed to betrying to unearththemselves from the back of her brain. She shook her head, ridding herself of the nagging feeling, and Kaelyn continued.

"Rumor has it that the two first-born twin princesses—" Kei looked up, annoyed, as Kaelyn stopped reading for the third time.

"Kaelyn?" She asked, concerned, for Kaelyn's eyes were skimming down the page. Her face was white, and her mouth moved wordlessly. "What?" Kei asked, and in answer, Kaelyn shoved the book at her and pointed the passage she had stopped reading.

Kei took the gilded book and read: _Rumor has it that the two first-born twin princesses will take the throne after their parents have died. Both princesses have mysteriously disappeared, so the nephew of the king, Prince Namir, has taken the throne. The rumor is that Princess Keianna and Princess Kaelyn will be found one day and will reclaim the throne that their parents have left them to jointly rule. _

There was more, but Kei couldn't read any more. She looked up at Kaelyn, glad she was sitting down. She felt the blood drain from her face. Numbly, through the shock, words floated into her brain. _Twin princesses…Tyran throne…_

Kaelyn swayed where she stood, and as the eyes of both girls met, one word emerged from each incredulous mouth.

"Twins?"

"Princesses?"

"Why yes," a familiar voice behind them said pleasantly, "didn't you know?"

Kaelyn looked up, green eyes wide, and Kei jumped up and whirled around, just as surprised, and confronted the speaker.

Shyam Alden, the Shang Wolf stood there, smiling pleasantly.

* * *

**A/N: Cliffie! Tell me what you think by pushing that purple button down there!**


	10. Chapter 8

**A/N: Sorry for such a span between chapters, but I had to get my ideas for this chapter organized. This chapter might seemed a bit rushed, but I tried to get as much information in as I could. Thanks to all my reviewers, and here's Chapter 8!**

**Disclaimer: This is Tamora's Pierce's world. It belongs to her. **

* * *

Silence and Shadows: Chapter 8

"So, I suppose you would like an explanation?"

Both girls stared as Shyam Alden as if he was insane. Of course they wanted an explanation! The Shang Wolf settled into his chair, facing the twins. Both girls seemed to be in shock, but the shock was wearing off, and they were eager for more information. He had taken them to his private chambers, in order to discourage eavesdroppers.

At the eager expressions on the princesses' faces, he chuckled to himself, but quickly sobered as he told his tale.

"You really are princesses," he began, "and it is true that your parents are King Francis and Queen Aminia. Your true titles," he told them, "are Princess Keianna Aceline, and Princess Kaelyn Aceline."

"Wait," Kei interrupted, puzzled. "How do you know all this?"

"Because I was there," came the reply.

"What?" This was Kaelyn, green eyes inquisitive.

"I served as the resident Shang Warrior in the Tyran court at the time of your birth," Shyam told them, "and your parents took me into their confidence early on. They were not the most conventional king and queen," he told them, chuckling slightly. He cleared his throat and continued his tale.

"When you were born, the court was in an uproar. They had never had twin princesses before, and everyone wondered if your parents would name you joint heirs. It had never been done before in the court's history, and everyone waited for the decision. After many heated debates with their advisors, the king and queen named you joint rulers of Tyra, when the time came. That was when disaster struck." The Shang Wolf's eyes grew shadowed as he remembered what had happened.

"What happened?" Kei asked, eager to know.

"Someone tried to kill you both," Shyam told them, grave. "Someone stole into the royal nursery in the dead of night and tried to kill you. The guards posted around your cradles stopped the man, but he managed to escape out an open window before they had a chance to capture him."

He looked up. The twins were staring at him, eyes wide, horrified.

"What happened them?" Kaelyn asked in a whisper, almost afraid to know.

The Shang Wolf continued. "Your parents were afraid that someone would try to murder you again, so they decided to hide you. They took you, separately, to different countries, to different courts, so you would be safe, until you could discover who you truly were."

Silence greeted these words, and he took them as his cue to continue. "They took Keianna to Tortall, to be adopted by a noble family there," he said, nodding to Kei, who looked surprised, "and they took Kaelyn to the Copper Isles, were they had friends." Kaelyn looked up, surprised at this information.

"But," Kei asked, "how did they know we would find each other again and find out our heritage?"

"Your pendants," the Shang Wolf replied, and instinctively, both girls reached for the silver chains that held their pendants. They pulled them out: gold and green, blue and black. "Both are symbols of your parentage. The Tyran coat of arms bears a sitting black cat on a field of gold and blue, but your pendants also help you find each other."

Puzzled looks greeted him, and he elaborated. "Those pendants are spelled, so if you come within close contact with each other, they will begin to heat up." Both girls looked at each other, comprehension dawning as things began to fall into place.

"Also," Shyam continued, "your pendants will alert your twin if you are in danger, or sick, or need help. But most importantly, they contain your Gift."

"But," Kei protested, "I don't have the Gift. I was tested, when I was little, and they couldn't find anything."

Kaelyn shook her head in agreement. "I was tested also, and they didn't find anything."

The Shang Wolf smiled a small, sort of secretive smile. "These pendants," he said, indicating the cat figurines, "were spelled to contain your Gift until you came in contact with your twin. Once in contact, the Gift would begin to enter you, little by little, until you retained it all, as you had when you were born."

Kei shook her head. "That doesn't make any sense. Why would our parents hide our Gift in our pendants once they hid us?"

Shyam stared at her, and then said frankly, "Your parents hid your Gift, knowing that if you could seem as normal as possible, without any distinguishing traits, you had a better chance of living."

Kei seemed subdued by this, and sat back in her chair, contemplating this new development in the story.

Kaelyn asked eagerly, "Are our parents still alive?"

The Shang Wolf's hazel eyes seemed to become shadowed again, and he answered sadly, "No, Princess, I'm sorry. Your parents died twelve years ago."

Kei's head snapped up at this news. "How did they die?"

Shyam shrugged. "I don't know," he answered. "That remains a mystery, but your cousin, Prince Namir, has taken the throne under the title King Namir."

Kaelyn stared at him in horror. "He took the throne?"

The Shang Wolf nodded solemnly. "He took the throne, which you must win back."

"Win back the throne?" Kei asked incredulously, "but we have to get back to Corus!"

"Not anymore," the Shyam told her. "You have a duty to your parents, and to your country to take back the throne from the imposter they call king."

Kei shook her head. "It just doesn't seem possible."

Kaelyn looked thoughtful. "But we are the heirs…"

Kei shook her head violently. "No, we're different people now."

The Shang Wolf looked between the two. "I'll leave you to your thinking," he said, and with that, he swept from the room, leaving the two princesses alone with their thoughts.

* * *

"This is insane," Kei muttered after Shyam left. "What do we know about ruling a country?"

Kaelyn looked at her, green eyes thoughtful. "I can't believe we're twins, and heirs to the throne."

Kei grinned slightly, and nodded. "We had just gotten to know each other, too."

Kaelyn nodded. "I don't know why I hadn't noticed the similarities between usbefore."

Kei nodded absently, but she was studying the black cat figurine in her palm. The sapphire eyes glittered up at her, seeming to challenge her. "I wonder…" she murmured, and then she closed her eyes, concentrating hard, as she had before.

She was rewarded by Kaelyn's gasp of wonder, and her eyes flew open. There, sitting in her palm, was a small ball of blue fire. She looked at Kaelyn, the surprise, joy, and wonder evident on her face.

* * *

Kaelyn contemplated the golden cat figurine in her hand, so like Kei's. Unsure what to do, she concentrated on a ball of fire growing in her palm. She looked up from her concentrating to find a small ball of fire in her palm, like Kei's, except this one was green. She looked over at Kei and gasped.

Her sister seemed to be absorbed the blue fire as it streamed down her arms and pooled into her palms. Traveling from her palms, the fire streamed to the middle of her breastbone, where it pooled into a bright blue light.

After all of the blue fire had disappeared, Kei looked up at Kaelyn and grinned. She touched her breastbone lightly. "It's all here," she whispered in wonder. "My Gift. It's back, and it feels _wonderful_." She grinned even more brightly, and nodded to Kaelyn.

"Your turn." At her sister's prompting, Kaelyn concentrated again, and now she felt the green fire flow down her arms to her palms, and then to her breastbone. She felt her core forming, and she could feeling the fire pooling into the core, into her essence. It might have been hours, it might have been seconds, and then it was over.

Kaelyn looked up at Kei, grinning just as broadly. She felt the same wonderfulness, and she now remembered that familiar feeling of her Gift from long ago.

"So, about taking over the country from our cousin…" Kei began, and Kaelyn grinned, feeling daring and knowing exactly what her twin was talking about.

"Let's go," she said, and headed for the door.

* * *

Later, Shyam Alden heard the pounding of hoofbeats on the packed dirt of the courtyard, and as the noise receded, he looked out the window in his library. He watched the gray mare and the black mare grow smaller, and he grinned. They were going back.

* * *

**A/N: Good? Bad? Not enough information? Too rushed? Tell me what you think by pushing that button down there! Keep an eye out for Chapter 9, in which we find out the boys' reaction to this impromptu trip. **


	11. Chapter 9

**A/N: First of all, I want to apologize for taking so long to have this updated. I meant to do it much sooner, but I had exams, and you know how that goes. Thanks to all my reviewers for their wonderful reviews! We're getting closer to wrapping up this story, I only expect three more chapters and possibly an epilouge, but I'm also planning a sequel, so you will see these characters again, along with some new faces. **

**A/N: I promise more fluff in this chapter than in the others. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: These characters are mine. Everything else belongs to Tamora Pierce. **

* * *

Silence and Shadows: Chapter 9

"Alec?" Jamal poked his head into the Tortallan's room to find the knight sitting in an armchair, reading one of the many books from Shyam Alden's extensive library. The knight looked up at the Copper Islander's voice, and seeing who it was, closed the book.

Seeing he had Alec's attention, Jamal stepped into the room. Dressed in a pair of tan breeches and a green shirt, he looked every inch a lord of the Copper Isles.

"Have you see Kaelyn?" Jamal asked, and Alec shook his head.

"No," he admitted, and then fell silent, as if pondering something. Jamal shifted slightly as a silence fell over the room, coating the space between them.

The silence stretched out, and awkwardly, Jamal broke it. "I was looking for Kaelyn because I need to ask her—"

Alec cut him off abruptly, murmuring, "Come to think of it, I haven't seen Kei at all today. Have you seen her?" This question was directed at Jamal, who shook his head in reply.

"Did you try the practice courts?" Jamal questioned. "That's the last place I saw her."

Alec shook his head, looking concerned. He saw that same concern mirrored on Jamal's face as he replied, "I just checked the practice courts. She wasn't there."

"They might be in the library," Jamal told him, heading for the door. Alec stood up, placing his book on a small table, ready to follow, when something occurred to him. Jamal stopped as Alec spoke again.

"They might be in the library," he conceded, "but we should ask Shyam where they are." Jamal nodded and strode out the door, Alec at his side.

* * *

"Anything else?" Kaelyn asked, trying to read the glided book that rested in her sister's hands. Nisha balked at the movement, and Kaelyn gave up on trying to read it. She turned back to study the foliage around them asKei looked up from rifling through the pages of the glided history book.

"Not much," she admitted, closing the book and tucking it into her saddlebags.

Her gray mare, Whisper, undisturbed by the movement, snorted in surprise as Tacy leapt onto her back, a dead mouse in her jaws. In front of Kaelyn, Amaya's head shot up, pink nose questing as she found the other cat and the scent of dead mouse. With an inquisitive mew, the black cat leapt nimbly onto the gray mare's back, and both cats shared the meal, balanced precariously on Whisper's back.

Distracted from the subject for the moment, Kaelyn noticed that her twin no longer held her arm stiffly. "Did your arm heal?" she questioned, surprised.

Kei nodded. "My arm and my thigh healed soon after our Gifts were returned. I think it helped."

Kaelyn nodded, agreeing. "Those who have the Gift often have healing powers. But what about our pendants?" she asked, changing the subject by indicating her twin's figurine and grasping her own.

Kei frowned, fingering the figurine at her throat. "I don't know," she told the other girl. "I've thought about it, and at first, I thought they would melt away, now that we have our Gifts, but they haven't." She cradled the black pendant in her palm, as thoughsearching the sapphire eyes for answers to mysteries still unsolved.

Kaelyn inspected her own. In the morning sunlight, the gold gleamed, and the green eyes stared back at her. She thought that the emeralds had been dulled somehow, that they didn't gleam as brightly as before, but she couldn't be sure.

Kei drew her attention back to the present. "We should be inside the Tyran border in another day or so, and then it's a two day ride to Tyra," she said, referring to the capital of the country that shared the same name. Her blue-gray eyes gleamed with excitement as she turned to Kaelyn, and at her sister's stare, Kaelyn felt the same excitement welling up at the thought of their return to Tyra after seventeen years.

Kei turned in the saddle, blue-gray eyes dancing as a mischievous smile appeared. When Kaelyn glanced at her quizzically, Kei's grin became wider as she elaborated.

"I wonder what the boys are thinking now?" she grinned and at Kaelyn's amused grin, they both nudged their horses into a gallop, racing through the trees, towards their mysterious past.

* * *

"They're where?" Alec asked incredulously, blue eyes wide with shock. Beside him, Jamal's brown eyes were wide and horrified. Sitting before them in a large armchair was the Shang Wolf.

"Tyra," he answered calmly, and Alec started to shake his head.

"No," he murmured, "I don't believe you."

The Shang Wolf said nothing, just watched as the two men tried to wrap their minds around where their sisters had gone. There was a faint trace of amusement in his hazel eyes as he watched Alec pace across the library floor. Jamal seemed to be deep in thought,obviously pondering something. Alec had finished pacing the floor and had returned to stand beside Jamal in front of the Shang Wolf.

"You wouldn't lie," he murmured, "so they must have gone to Tyra." He gazed at the Shang Wolf, perplexed. "Why would they go to Tyra?"

"That is for them to tell you," the Shang Wolf replied quietly, and then pointed out the window towards the eastern border of Tortall. "They headed towards Tyra no more than two hours ago. If you hurry, you can probably catch them by sundown."

A relieved look crossed Alec's face, and the next second, Shyam Alden was alone in the library again as he heard the two brothers scramble down the stairs towards the stables. Minutes later, he heard the sound of hoofbeats on paved stone, only to be muted by dirt seconds later.

Glancing out the window, he saw two riders galloping for the eastern border. He settled back, opening his book with a smile. _Yes,_ he decided, _he would definitely go to visit them after they had regained the throne._

* * *

The small forest had given way to meadows and plains after awhile, and the riding was easy. As they grew nearer to the border, Kei thought more and more about stopping.

As the sun slowly began to sink and stain the sky pink, the two girls found a small clearing to spend the night in. By the time they had finished setting up camp, untacked their horses, built a small fire, the sky was blood red and they were hungry.

Kei watched as her sister headed off into the woods, armed with her crossbow. She wasn't worried about Kaelyn's safety; her twin had been trained in the fighting arts as she had been, and also had the Gift. A short time later, Kaelyn was back, carrying with her two plump rabbits.

After eating, they let the cats have the rest, and prepared for the night. Kei let her hair down from its bun, and Kaelyn did the same. Now, except for eye color, they looked exactly the same, dressed in a pair of brown breeches and a tan shirt.

The red sky was giving way to the first evening star when Kei heard the first crashing noise. Sitting up and listening closely, she recognized the sounds of two riders, neither of them being careful to hide their motions. Unsure if it was friend or foe, Kei pushed herself up. Nudging Kaelyn awake, she grabbed the crossbow and handed it to her twin. Arming herself with two daggers, and placingmore within easy reach, Kei planted herself in the middle of the clearing, Kaelyn at her side.

The two figures came closer, and Kei tensed. As the two horses and their riders broke through the trees, Kei relaxed and saw Kaelyn relax also, easily recognizing the bay and chestnut stallions, along with their riders. Stowing her daggers, Kei glared at her brother as he approached.

"How did you find us?" She demanded, blue-gray eyes flashing.

Alec winced; Kei's temper was formidable, and he didn't want to get on her bad side if he was to convince her that she needed to go home.

"The Shang Wolf told us where you were headed," he murmured, and watched in amusement as Kei cursed softly.

"We were supposed to be able to do this without you two knowing!" She growled, indicating Jamal.

Alec smirked. "So you're saying you don't want Jamal to get hurt?"

Kei blushed in the dying light of the sun. "I'm not saying that," she murmured, and then she became defensive again. "This was a mission for Kaelyn and I to carry out, not you two!"

"What mission?" Jamal asked, coming to Alec's side.

Kei blushed slightly and faced him. Kaelyn had come to her side, and quickly, they told them the story. They told them of how they were princesses, of how Shyam Alden knew the entire time, about their Gifts, their pendants,and the history book.

Alec and Jamal took this in silently, and stared at the two girls in astonishment.

"That's why we didn't want you two to know," Kei explained, finishing the story, "this was something we needed to do on our own."

Kei was still wondering how they took it a while later, when she noticed thatAlec had drawn Kaelyn to one side of the clearing, and that Jamal had her drawn her to the other.

Staring up into his dark brown eyes, she blushed at what she saw. She saw the obvious affection and...something else shone there. Jamal gazed down at her, concerned.

"Are you sure you have to do this by yourself?" He asked, and Kei nodded numbly, silenced by his close proximity.

Jamal sighed, dropping his head. Coming slightly out of the spell his nearness had caused, Kei noticed that their hands had become intertwined. Lifting her head, she stifled a gasp. His face was so close to her own…

His lips met hers, soft and slow and sweet. Kei felt the love and passion behind the kiss, and she kissed him back with equal ardor. Her arms were wrapped around his neck; he was supporting her back.

This time, no one interrupted them, and parting, Kei saw why. Kaelyn and Alec were wrapped up in the exact same embrace, and Kei smiled at the love she saw passing between the two. Jamal's hand on her chin drew Kei's stormy blue-gray gaze to Jamal's deep brown one, and he kissed her again, lingering this time.

When they parted the second time, his brown eyes searched her blue-gray ones. "I love you," her murmured, brushing his hand against her cheek.

Kei stared up at him for a moment before replying, "I love you too." She buried her head in his shoulder, comforted by his warmth as he held her close, running his fingers through her long black hair.

Kei looked up to see that Kaelyn and Alec were watching them, standing comfortably together. She blushed, and shivered as Jamal's breath whispered in her ear.

"I'm coming with you." All Kei could do was nod, comforted by the fact that he would be with her when she went to regain the throne.

* * *

As the four travelers settled down for the night, the stars appeared and the moon began to ascend. Kei was between Jamal and Kaelyn, while her sister was between herself and Alec. Kei was lying in her bedroll, not quite ready to let go off this perfect day, when a hand tapped her on the shoulder. She rolled over to find Kaelyn watching her. In the growing light of the moon, Kaelyn's eyes gleamed.

"Today was perfect, wasn't it?" She asked, and Kei nodded and glanced up at the twinkling stars.

"It was," she agreed. Kaelyn watched her, an amused smile playing at her lips.

"What?" Kei asked, noticing.

Kaelyn's gaze became serious. "Do you love my brother?"

Kei blushed. "Yes," she murmured, and then turned the question back on her sister. "Do you love my brother?"

In the light of the moon, Kei could see Kaelyn's blush. "Yes," the other girl admitted quietly. Kei was ready to drift off to sleep when Kaelyn's voice broke the silence again.

"Every queen needs a consort, right?"

Kei grinned and rolled over, meeting Kaelyn's gaze squarely. "Right," she agreed, and rolledto her originalposition,letting sleep overtake her. The last thing she remembered before drifting off to sleep was Tacy, curled up next to her head and purring.

* * *

**A/N: In case you were confused by some things earlier, Tyra is the name of the capital of the kingdom of Tyra. Tyra shares a small part of the eastern border of Tortall, and is a very small country. **

**A/N: What'd you think? Good? Bad? Ugly? Please review, and no flames!**


	12. Chapter 10

**A/N: Wow, two chapters in two days--a record for me! Thanks to all my reviewers for their wonderful reviews!Chapter 11 might take me awhile to post, because it focuses solely on the mage battle, and my experience in writing those types of things are almost none. I just thought I would give you a warning in advance! **

**A/N: You see many new characters this chapter, and you will probably only see them or hear them mentioned once or twice in the sequel. There are only two chapters left in this story, but you will see these characters again in the sequel. **

**Disclaimer: The characters you don't recognize are mine. Everything else is Tammy's. **

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 10

The streets were deserted, and it was only ten o'clock. At this time on a fall night, the residents of Tyra would be out and about, shopping and socializing. But this was different. Not a light shone in any of the streets; no figure appeared, save the stray dog or cat. The wind whistled through the streets, sounding eerily lonely.

Kei poked her head around another street corner, and seeing no one, motioned to her companions. They joined her, and she stared out at the street. Something wasn't right. The streets should be bustling, not empty. They had entered the outskirts of the city yesterday, and had seen no one. They were almost to the palace gates, and still had not seen a living soul.

Kei shivered. The entire time they had been exploring the city, she felt like she was being watched by unseen eyes. That, more than the deserted city, scared her. Beside her, Kaelyn shivered, and Kei was pretty sure it wasn't from the wind. Her twin felt the same sense of foreboding that blanketed the city.

Once, Kei was sure she saw someone moving in the shadows of a house. The next second she was sure she imagined it—it was probably one shadow chasing another. The feeling that she was being watched followed her as she paced down one street and turned onto another. The endless maze of streets continued. One street led to another; they were all the same. No people, no lights, no movement at all.

They were turning down the main street that ran up to the palace gates when they saw a person, hurriedly scurrying away from them. Motioning for Alec and Jamal to extinguish their torches, Kei summoned her bright blue Gift and threw it out, gently entrapping the person in a soft blue bubble. The person yelped and scrambled backwards, only to be towed towards the travelers by the strands of blue light that Kei controlled.

Kei felt Kaelyn place a hand on her arm: a silent warning. Kei grimaced. She and Kaelyn both knew that they would probably have to battle their cousin with their Gifts, and that they needed to save their energy.

Sighing, Kei released her prisoner about two steps away. Calling her blue fire back, Kei grabbed the dagger in her belt and crossed the woman's side. The woman stared back at her: Large, frightened hazel eyes, set above a large nose and small mouth. The woman's face was worn, and her clothes were shabby, but she seemed to have an air about her that was almost regal.

Kei and the woman stared at each other before the light of recognition dawned in the woman's eyes. The recognition grew brighter as Kaelyn stepped up to Kei's side, Alec and Jamal following, hands on their swords. The woman glanced at Kei's dagger, and then at her face, as if measuring something.

"Your majesties!" She cried in a hushed whisper, her voice carrying through the silent and deserted streets. "I knew you would come back someday to release us from our oppression!" Kei and Kaelyn exchanged glances. Instinctively, they knew they could trust this woman. As her joyful gaze swept from Kei and Kaelyn to Alec and Jamal, she became instantly wary.

"Who are they?" She asked, fear creeping into voice. Kei hurried to reassure the woman, casting around for a term that would fit the other two.

"They're our—consorts," she told the woman swiftly, risking a look back at the other two. Alec was smiling slightly at her choice of words, but Jamal looked surprised. Kei blushed and turned back to their new friend.

The woman accepted her explanation without question, curtsying low to them all, murmuring, "Your majesties."

She looked up again as Kei asked, "What's your name?"

The woman swept her a low curtsy, answering, "My name is Rhia, Your Majesty."

Kei nodded. "Rhia, do you know how to get into the palace?"

Rhia nodded, but then she stepped closer and lowered her voice, so they had to lean in to understand her. "I do, your majesty," she whispered, "but we must hurry. King Namir's spies are everywhere. We must not be seen."

Kei exchanged a dark look with Kaelyn as they followed Rhia down an alley, around the side of the palace. Leading them to a secret door, she glanced around, as if the shadows would give away her secret. Beckoning them in, she glanced around once more before following them into the passageway.

* * *

Kaelyn followed Rhia blindly, unable to see where they were going in the darkness. Towards the end of the hallway, a small blossom of light bloomed in the darkness: a door. Swinging the door open, Rhia led her guests into the main kitchen of the palace. Blinking, the travelers stepped into the large, warmly lit kitchen. 

Unfamiliar faces stared back at them. There were seven figures grouped around a large wooden table in the middle of the kitchen, and behind them was a large fireplace.

Kaelyn scanned each person's face, searching for something that would link her to her past, but she found nothing. All she remembered about this country and palace was flashes of memory: Bright lights, glittering statues, soft clothes next to her skin. That glittering palace seemed a far cry from this shabby, run-down structure, which looked as if its owner did not care what happened to it. _Which,_ Kaelyn mused, _was probably true_. From all she had heard about her cousin—whom she didn't remember—he was an oppressive tyrant.

She looked at the seven faces staring back at her. Six of them showed the worn and hardened faces of servants (Tyra did not support slavery) who had suffered. The seventh figure sat in the shadows, and Kaelyn could not tell who it was. The six faces stared back at her, and she saw a disbelieving kind of hope in their eyes, as if they wanted to believe they were saved, but they couldn't.

A sharp intake of breath next to her told Kaelyn that her sister had noticed it too, but looking over, Kaelyn saw that she was wrong.

Kei was staring at the shadow-shrouded figure in disbelief. Still staring, eyes wide, she blurted, "Shyam?"

The seventh figure straightened up and moved into the light, and Kaelyn could see that it was indeed the Shang Wolf that stood there. Beside her, Kei shook her head.

"How did you get here before us?" Kei asked, and Alec and Jamal echoed her. Shyam smiled at their obvious disbelief.

"I decided a few minutes after you left that I was neglecting my Shang duties," he said. "We Shang swore to help the weak against the mighty, and I couldn't send the four of you into danger, with two under-used Gifts," he nodded to them, "which could have gotten out of control at any time. As for getting here before you," he grinned, "I've lived in this palace before, remember?"

Kei nodded, mulling this information over, but Kaelyn spoke up. "As soon as this battle is over, Shyam," she promised, "we'll train our Gifts."

The Shang Wolf shook his head. "You'll need them before that," he told them. "Your treacherous cousin is planning on a mage fight, so you'll use the next two hours to train as hard as you can. Now, I know two hours isn't much time," he said as Kei started to protest, "but two hours can make a world of difference in a battle. My friend, Alyosius Zeheb, the chief mage of Tyra, will train you in that time."

One of the six figures stood and bowed to Kei and Kaelyn. "Your Majesties," he said, his voice a deep rumble. He had long brown hair and kind green eyes. He towered over Shyam at a little more than six feet.

At this, Rhia spoke. Kaelyn started; she had almost forgotten about the maid. "Shyam, will you take these two"—she nodded to Jamal and Alec—"and outfit them with weapons? They're going to need them if they, Emlyn and Brayden are going to defeat the soldiers who are still loyal to Namir."

The two men she had indicated stood up. Both wore the insignia of the captain of the guard. Alec glanced them over, and turned to Rhia.

"How many do they each command?" He asked quietly.

"Forty foot soldiers each," came the quiet reply.

"How many are still loyal to Namir?"

"A hundred and twenty." This response was more hushed than the first.

Beside Alec, Jamal paled. "A hundred and twenty against eighty. Not very good odds."

Rhia hurried to reassure him. "It will be you two, the Shang Wolf, and Master Nuhad, our other mage, and eighty soldiers against a hundred and twenty."

Jamal bit his lip, counting silently. "Assuming the Shang Wolf can be depended on to fight like two men, we have eighty-five against a hundred and twenty. Still not very good odds."

The Shang Wolf paused at the door. "Are you coming? It's time to train!"

Kaelyn glanced at Jamal, and her heart ached. While he wasn't her true brother, only her foster-brother, she still thought of him as such. She squeezed his hand, a silent plea to be careful. She wouldn't be able to bear it if he got killed. Jamal gave her a grim smile and a nod, acknowledging her plea. She saw him glance at Keianna, and she smiled. She and Jamal had talked on their way to Tyra, and she found that her foster-brother truly loved her twin.

Jamal gave her a quick hug, and swiftly kissed Kei's cheek, murmuring something to her as he did so. Kaelyn watched as Keianna hugged her foster-brother, whispering something to him that made him laugh outright.

Saying good-bye to his foster-sister, Alec came to Kaelyn's side. His blue eyes looked into hers as he took her hand, squeezing it softly. He pressed a soft kiss on her cheek, murmuring quietly, "I love you." Kaelyn hugged him tight, and then released him, trying to ignore the little voice that told her she would never see him again.

Along with the Shang Wolf, the two captains, and the battle mage, the two men exited the room. Rhia and three other servants remained. With a quiet word from Rhia, each slipped off to begin preparations for this revolt.

* * *

Kei watched Rhia move around confidently, and marveled at the change in the woman. Earlier, she had been cowering with fear; now, she moved around as swiftly as a general ordering her troops into places. 

"You've had this planned for awhile, haven't you, Rhia?" Kei asked, astounded by her efficiency.

Rhia smiled. "Yes, Your Majesty," she answered cheerfully. "We've been waiting to put this in motion since the day your evil cousin stole the throne. But for now I need to finish getting ready," she told them as she prepared to leave. "You two stay here and train with Master Zeheb," she ordered, as Keianna and Kaelyn moved to follow. "You need to be well-trained for the battle you're going to fight in a few hours." She swept them one last low curtsy and departed.

Both girls turned to the mage, who stood silently, waiting for the commotion to die down.

"Let's begin," he murmured, flicking white Gift at all the furniture in the room, clearing a large space in the middle of the room. He sat down in the middle of the floor, and both princesses followed suit, settling into comfortable cross-ledged positions on either side of him.

"Now, let's begin with meditation…"

* * *

Two hours later, Kaelyn felt sore, but somewhat prepared. Two hours of training did not make her an immediate expert; on the contrary, she was still something of a novice. She was confident that she could control her Gift completely now, and also complete simple shielding spells and some battle spells; Kei had advanced more quickly than she had in the two hour period. She still didn't feel up to a mage battle, but she knew what she had to do. 

Kaelyn was nervous; one glance at Keianna told her she felt the same way. It was too late to ask for anymore training—Master Zeheb was already putting the furniture back in its original places.

White fire blossomed in his palm: A speaking spell. He listened to the person on the opposite end, and then closed the link. He looked at them, grim and solemn.

"The fighting has begun." He said, and Kaelyn felt her heart lurch—she didn't feel ready. Zeheb continued, "They are able to distract the guards and soldiers while you two go in face your cousin in his specially made mage chamber—he likes to have battles with other mages, and he created that chamber especially for that purpose. It is down on the dungeon level," he continued, "and I will show you the way. After that, I'm going to assist the others. From there," he told them, "you're on your own."

Kaelyn looked at Kei and gulped. Calling to Amaya, she nuzzled her cat's fur, more to calm her nerves and comfort her more than anything else, and looked at Kei. Keianna's face was set, and her blue-gray eyes were grim.

Without another word, Zeheb got up, and showed them yet another door, this passageway leading down. Picking up Amaya, Kaelyn followed her sister as they ascended into the darkness, not knowing what lay ahead.

* * *

Kei reached the end of the tunnel and quietly pushed the door open. The dark corridor was deserted, the torches throwing large shadows on the wall. At the end of the hallway, something glittered in the weak torchlight. Keianna walked forward, curious. As the glittering something grew closer, she realized what it was: a multi-colored magic shield across the doorway at the end of the corridor. 

She halted a foot away from the shield, wondering what to do. She could try to blast it with her Gift, but she wasn't sure if the shield was going to just suck it in and use her Gift against her.

A gasp from Kaelyn brought her back from her musings. Tacy and Amaya, inquisitive as ever, had crept closer to the shield, tail and fur erect. Cautiously, paw by paw, they approached it. They stretched out their noses to touch it—

Keianna realized what they were going to do a second too late. "No!" she cried, rushing forward, but it was too late. A two surprised yowls and the smell of singed fur greeted her. The two cats, black and golden, lay in an unmoving heap.

The next thing Kei heard was someone screaming. The scream was somewhere between a cry of anguish and a wail, and it echoed down the hallway and rebounded back to them, echoing over and over and over. Kei wondered vaguely who and why that person was screaming, but she was too preoccupied by the bundle of golden fur in front of her. She petted the golden fur, trying to coax her cat back to life, tears streaming down her face.

The scream ended when Kaelyn slammed her hand over her sister's mouth, cutting it off. Keianna looked at her sister, sobbing quietly. Kaelyn's green eyes were red, and her tears flowed just a freely as her sister's did. Slowly, Kei's sobs subsided, and she picked up the bundle of still-warm fur, placing it gently next to the door.

She ran her hand over the golden fur. "You will receive a royal burial, I promise," she told the golden cat. Kaelyn gently placed the black cat next to golden one, smoothing her hand over the white-flecked black fur one last time. The two cats looked as if they were sleeping, curled up together.

Wiping away her tears, Kei faced the shield for the second time. Anger and sadness boiling in her veins, she called blue fire into her hands. Magnified by her rage, the fire grew steadily brighter. When it reached an almost blinding light, Kei let it go, directing it at the shield.

With a sound like glass breaking, the shield shattered and vanished. The now-empty space revealed a twisting spiral staircase, heading downwards.

Eyes murderous, Princess Keianna Aceline and Princess Kaelyn Aceline of the royal house of Tyra set off down the stairs, ready to meet their next challenge.

* * *

**A/N: And that's the end of Chapter 10! Tell me what you think by pushing that little purple button down there, and no flames please!**


	13. Chapter 11

**A/N: I'm back! Thanks to all my reviewers, and here's Chapter 11! I'm trying to wrap things up, considering Chapter 12 will be my final chapter. But don't worry, the sequel will be up shortly after that. **

**A/N: In this chapter, there is a mage battle, but I must warn you, my experience in writing such parts in very limited, so you must excuse me if you find it completely unbelievable. **

**Disclaimer: None of this belong's to me. It's Tammy's world. **

* * *

Silence and Shadows: Chapter 11

Deep within the bowels of the palace of Tyra, a single torch flickered, shining on an empty, cavernous chamber. A sudden draft of air caused the torch to flicker sporadically, almost extinguishing itself, but as the wind died the torch flickered back to life.

Suddenly, a glow filled the enormous room, and a haze of light grew. The light was not light at all; rather, it was magic. This magic, pure white in color, seemed anything but pure. There was a feeling to it, as it appeared, that made the air around it feel as if it were tainted and poisoned. The white magic grew, building light until its brilliance lit up the entire chamber, making the weak light shed by the torch seem puny and insignificant.

As the light faded, the form of a person appeared, shadowed in the light of the magic. The person's face was indistinguishable, but as they turned, the weak torchlight cast a sliver of orange light on the person's face. The torchlight lit up a handsome face, but the eyes had a cold, hard look to them. The person turned again, and was once again shrouded in shadow. Confident there was no one there, he raised his hands. His lips parted; he was about to say something when footsteps echoed on the stairs that led into the chamber.

Eyes wide, the person quickly muttered something under his breath as the footsteps became louder. The white magic gathered around him again, and he faded from visible sight. The magic once again grew brighter and then faded.

At this sudden rush of air, the torch flame flickered. It flattened, turning a purplish-blue as the flame struggled to live. As the last wisps of white magic faded, the flame returned to its original position, once again casting a weak pool of orange light on the wall.

* * *

Keianna kept one hand on the wall as she made her way down the winding staircase. She risked a glance behind her and saw that Kaelyn was keeping her eyes on the rough stone ahead of her. Kei turned back and saw that she had almost reached the bottom. 

Pausing on the bottom step, she prepared herself to enter. She had thought, an hour ago, she was ready for this. Now, she wasn't so sure. The loss of Tacy had hit her hard, and she wasn't sure she could go on. As if feeling her sister's fear, Kaelyn slipped her hand into her twin's. Hand in hand, the princesses entered the chamber.

As her eyes adjusted to the weak light shed by the single torch, Kei looked around. When her eyes finally adjusted, she gasped. The chamber was huge. A high, cavernous ceiling rose high over their heads, and the floor was made of smooth stone that seemed to stretch for miles.

As she looked around at the splendor, Kei was uneasy. There was something wrong here. Where was their cousin? Where was Prince Namir, whom everyone was sure would meet them here? Wary, Kei couldn't shake the feeling that she felt like she was being watched. Seeing there were no visible enemies, but still on her guard, Kei turned her focus inward.

Her blue Gift pulsed gently at her center, but she had to exercise a great amount of control to keep it there. She still did not have it completely under control, and that worried her. Just like she didn't like going into a knife fight was an unskilled blade, she didn't like the fact that she had to go into a magic battle with an under-used Gift.

Kaelyn's soft exclamation drew her attention from herself. A light grew in the center of the room; it took Kei a minute to figure out that it was magic, a white Gift. She shivered as the Gift appeared. There was something _dirty _about that magic—it felt tainted, and it gave the air a tainted feeling as well.

Watching to see what would happen, even more wary than before, Kei watched as a person emerged from the white light, as if they were emerging from a fog. As the Gift receded into the man's body, and more torches flickered to life, pushed by the magic, Kei and Kaelyn came face to face with their cousin and nemesis: Prince Namir.

Prince Namir was a well-built young man in his early twenties. His curly black hair accentuated his handsome features, but his brown-black eyes were cold and hard. He eyed them, a sneering smirk twisting his mouth out of shape.

"So," he grinned, "my little cousins have come to see if they could beat me. I always wondered if you would have the guts to come and find me."

Kei stiffened at the insult. She detested being called little, and instinctively, she knew that she had to ignore his words. It was his magic that really needed to be watched. Blue fire grew in her palms, reacting to her mood. She quickly pulled it back into her body, but it was too late. Namir had seen it.

"Aw," he mocked, "does little Keianna think that she can defeat me will a ball of magic?"

"No," Kei snapped back, unable to hold her temper in check. She threw the two flames of her Gift at him, but he easily deflected them with a simple shielding spell.

"Is that the best you can do?" He taunted, and in response, an arrow of green light shot out from Kaelyn, but he deflected that as easily as he had Kei's.

Kei watched him, all nerves on end. She now knew that this man was no one to be trifled with, and she needed to save her Gift. His magic came at her, and she deflected it with the same shielding spell he had used early. He tried again, doubling his power, and the shield buckled.

Kei braced herself for the rush of magic that was going to come at her, but even then, she wasn't prepared for what happened. The white magic burst the shield, charging at her. It drove her down to her knees, and wrapped around her, sealing off her Gift and squeezing her tight.

Kei struggled to breathe, trying to fight off the pain that came as the magic squeezed her ribs painfully tight. She was still trying to suck air into her lungs when Kaelyn's green Gift appeared, shoving the white magic away. Drawing in air, Keianna took Kaelyn's hand and rose shakily to her feet. She was tired—she still had plenty of power left, but keeping a hold on her Gift while trying to fight with it was draining her of her energy. She was afraid of what would happen if she let it go, but she knew she couldn't hold it forever.

She looked up; Namir was staring at them, and his face no longer held its mocking smile.

His eyes were harder than ever, and he stared at themwith hatred before spitting out, "I never thought you two would prove harder to kill than my aunt and uncle." At Kei and Kaelyn's incredulous looks, he continued, growing more and more enraged by the minute. "What?" he asked. "Did you really think they died of old age or something? I wanted the throne, they had it, I got rid of them." He glared in their direction before starting to pace, while Kei and Kaelyn stood frozen. "They were much easier to kill than you, I must say."

There was more, but Kei wasn't listening. One thing was beating out a tattoo in her brain: _He killed our parents. He killed his own aunt and uncle for the throne, and now he wants to kill us, too. _Rage began to boil in her veins as this mantra repeated itself over and over in her head. The rage screamed through her veins, looking for a way out, and then it found it.

Keianna's Gift had been straining to get out, and with Kei's attention diverted, it attempted to escape. Kei grabbed it in at the last possible second and pulled it in, but it fought her control. Gritting her teeth, Kei glanced over at her sister. Kaelyn's green eyes were steely and murderous, and she gazed right back. Somehow, someway, Kei suddenly knew what to do, and by the glimmer in Kaelyn's eyes, she knew her sister did too.

Grabbing her sister's hand tightly, Kei nodded once. Letting up her hold on her Gift, Kei felt Kaelyn do the same. Namir had stopped to watch them, forgetting his ranting as he watched them process this new information. Now he stared in horror as a bolt of magic, intertwined with green and blue, rushed towards him. He threw up a shield hurriedly, but it did nothing. The two Gifts were under no one's control now, and could do what they liked.

Feeding off ofhis white Gift, the three intertwined Gifts consumed the one-time king of Tyra, feeding off his life force and creating a pillar of blue, green and white light that rose to almost brush the ceiling.

Kei and Kaelyn stared, transfixed, as the light grew brighter and brighter before in turned inward on itself, and, out of power, began to dwindle. The light began to fade, and then there was the rushing darkness as silence and shadows overtook everything as the two royal princesses sunk down on the smooth floor in a dead faint.

* * *

When Kaelyn awoke, she wasn't sure if minutes or hours had passed since their battle. She was drained; looking inside herself, she saw that she didn't have one drop of her Gift left. She realized that she was still on the smooth floor of the chamber, and she slowly tottered to her feet. 

Beside her, Keianna stirred and opened groggy blue-gray eyes. Her eyes sharpened as they took in their surroundings, and with Kaelyn's help, she managed to make it to her feet, swaying.

There was a clatter of feet on the stairs, and both princesses turned to stare. Armed with nothing, Kaelyn glanced at her sister and saw that Kei had her belt dagger out and was staring warily at the stairs.

The clattering grew louder, and Kaelyn saw Kei sheath her dagger as Brayden and his squadron of soldiers emerged into the chamber.

Bowing low to both, Brayden told them, "The fighting is over, Your Majesties. The other soldiers have surrendered, and peace now reigns in the castle."

Kaelyn watched as Kei drew herself up. Suddenly, she felt as if she was looking at a true princess and heir to the throne, not just her sister and twin. She wondered vaguely if the others would see that same change in her.

"Thank you, Brayden," Kei answered, nodding regally to the captain of the guards. Her gaze softened for a moment, and she asked anxiously, "How are Alec and Jamal?"

Brayden bowed again. "Their Majesties are resting. They were wounded during the fighting," he told her, but quickly added, "they were not seriously wounded, Your Majesty. They will recover."

"Good," Kei murmured, and now Kaelyn took over.

"Brayden," she asked, "do you know where we can go to freshen up and get some sleep? We just fought an exhausting battle, and we would like to rest." Brayden started, and when he answered, his tone was cautious.

"I can take Your Majesties to the royal suite to rest, but you must remember that Your Majesties must choose who will be queen before the moon sets."

Kaelyn started. "What?"

Brayden looked up, curious. "Your Majesties are not familiar with the Tyran custom of choosing the new monarch before the moon sets on the body of the old one?"

Kei jumped in, saving her sister. "We are, Brayden," she reassured him, "we had just forgotten momentarily." Kaelyn grinned at her sister, thanking her for rescuing her like that. Kei grinned back, seeming to say, _Well, what are sisters for? _

Not catching the glances, Brayden was gazing around the chamber. He cleared his throat to get the princesses' attention, and then asked, bowing, "Your Majesties, where is Namir's body?"

Wearily, Kei pointed to the scorch mark on the floor, the only indication that there had been a battle. "That's what left of him," she said, and Brayden nodded, face unreadable.

The captain of the guards bowed once more, and then turned and led them up the stairs. Kaelyn followed, willing her legs not to give out on her. Seeing Kei had the same problem, the two sisters supported each other through the maze of hallways, until Brayden stopped in front of a massive oak door.

"Your Majesties," he murmured, pushing the door open and bowing.

Kaelyn entered the royal suite and gasped. It was magnificent,fit for any princess. The bed was enormous, and Kaelyn glanced at the silk pillows longingly. It had been a long time since she hadn't felt the lumpiness of her bedroll.

Brayden turned to close the door, ready to guard the hallway with his squadron, when Kaelyn stopped him.

"Brayden," she murmured tiredly, "when does the moon set?"

Bowing, the captain replied, "Three hours, Your Majesty."

Thanking him, Kaelyn closed the door and leaned against it. Seeing Kei's inquisitive glance, Kaelyn murmured softly, "Three hours. That's not a lot of time."

* * *

Captain Brayden and his squad had been standing guard outside the royal suite for more than two hours now, and no movement came from within the rooms, except for the whisper of hushed voices. 

The door opened, and Brayden looked up expectantly. Princess Keianna beckoned him in silently, and he obeyed. Stepping inside, he was faced with two pairs of grim and serious eyes: one blue-gray, the other green.

One question was asked: "Did our parents have any dying wishes?"

Two minutes later, Brayden found himself outside again, where his squad proceeded to give him inquisitive stares, but he refused to say anything. Their Majesties had sworn him to secrecy, and he would do just that.

No more than a half an hour later, the door opened again, and two forms stepped into the dying moonlight that came through the window. Heads up, tall and proud, the two girls truly looked like the heirs they were.

The guards waited, wondering which one it would be.

Keianna spoke. "We have made our decision."

* * *

**A/N: Cliffy! You guys will have to wait until Chapter 12 to find out what they decided. In the meantime, who do you think should be queen? Keianna? or Kaelyn? Let me know what you think by pushing that button down there! **


	14. Chapter 12

**A/N: This is the final chapter, but the prologue to the sequel should be up shortly. Thanks to all my reviewers, and I hope to see you again. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own none of this, only what I have created. **

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Silence and Shadows: Chapter 12

"May I present Their Majesties, the royal monarchs of the Tyran Aceline family! Her Royal Majesty, Queen Keianna Aceline; Her Royal Majesty, Queen Kaelyn Aceline; His Royal Majesty, King Jamal Aceline, and His Royal Majesty, King Alexander Aceline."

Kei grinned as the church shook with the roar of cheering and clapping as the people stood. She glanced around the church, dazzled by the splendor of the nobles in their finest, andthe banners emblazoned with the Tyran coat of arms: a black cat on a blue and gold field. A quick jab to her ribs snapped her attention forward, where the High Priest of Mithros and the Head Priestess of the Goddess brought forth the first crown.

The golden crown blazed in the light; it was studded with smaller stones, and Kei could see the quality of sapphires and emeralds that decorated it. This crown was set lightly on Alec's head. Keianna glanced at her foster-brother. His face was impassive, but when he saw her glance, he caught her eye and winked.

Kei studied him for a moment longer, admiring how kingly he had become in two short months. He had adjusted to the weight of the responsibility that sat on his shoulders; it no longer overwhelmed him. His face was the same youthful face she had seen every day of her life since she was adopted, but it was wiser now; it was no longer the face of a young man.

She turned her attention to Jamal as the second golden crown was brought forward. She smiled slightly at the palpable nervousness that hung in the air around her fiancé; she knew he was as nervous as she was. He caught her eye and smiled slightly, bolstered by the confidence that shone in her eyes. His face, also, had become different. Like Alec, he carried his responsibilities, but he took them much more seriously than Alec did. His brown eyes were serious, and as the crown was placed lightly on his head, he seemed to straighten—he became more regal, and he looked more like a king than he had before.

Kei glanced around at the people before her. Many of the faces were familiar; she had grown to love and know the people of Tyra in two months. Right after they had decided that she and Kaelyn would both rule, in accordance to their parents' dying wish, they had gotten to know the people. Every day, they would ride to a different town in their small country, starting with the capital of Tyra. Many of the people were wary at first—the memories of Namir's oppression still haunted them.

As the people of Tyra came to accept their new monarchs, their love and respect grew. Soon they were warming up to the princesses, telling them what could be done. The country of Tyra was beaten and tired; a lot of work had to be done to get it back into the country it had been when King Francis and Queen Aminia had ruled.

Many of the other faces in the crowd were even more familiar: Shyam Alden, the Shang Wolf, dressed in his nicest clothes; Rhia, their good friend and ruler among the servants, and Brayden and Emlyn, brothers and faithful commanders of the soldiers.

Another jab in the ribs from Alec brought Kei's mind spinning back to where she was. She realized that Kaelyn was about to be crowned, and she didn't want to be caught staring out into space. She smoothed her deep blue dress self-consciously, carefully running her fingers over the delicate white embroidery. She looked up as the High Priest and Priestess approached with the third crown.

Like the other two, this crown was the same size and shape, but it had a more delicate design. It was silver and studded with emeralds. Kei and Kaelyn had requested that their crowns be specially made; the blacksmith, not wanting to disappoint the monarchs, had outdone himself.

The crowd grew silent with awe as the silver crown was placed on Kaelyn's head. Kei watched, also awed and silenced. For a moment, she didn't see her twin sister; she saw a queen that knew her place and could govern the people with justice and sensibility.

Palms up, Kaelyn released her green Gift, and it eagerly made its way along the silver crown, making the emeralds blaze green light. The green Gift entered the emeralds, binding Kaelyn to Tyra. The emeralds glowed steadily, even after Kaelyn had reclaimed her Gift. Kei noticed curiously that the emeralds of Kaelyn's golden catpendantglowed,as though thegreen Gift had re-entered them.Kei saw Kaelyn relax, and shoot Alec a relieved look. Keianna smiled softly at the loving look Alec gave his fiancée, and thenshe realized that it was her turn.

The High Priest and Priestess approached her slowly, bearing the second silver crown between them. This one, like Kaelyn's was more delicately wrought than Alec and Jamal's. This one, however, was set with small sapphires. Kei bowed her head slightly, acknowledging that she was ready. Her long, raven-black hair flowed over her shoulders, let down for once, slightly covering her face.

As one, the High Priest and Priestess lowered the crown onto her head, and Kei felt the magic take hold immediately. She felt the ancient magic that flowed into her veins, marking her forever as a monarch of Tyra. Realizing what the crowd, silent and watching, was waiting for, Kei released some of her Gift.

Her blue Gift lazily wound its way up to the sapphires, igniting each to emit blue light. One tendril of her Gift reached down to light the eyes of her black cat pendant, which she still wore and refused to remove. Kei felt her Gift combine with the ancient magic, binding her to the land of Tyra. Her Gift wandered idly around the crown until Kei called it back to her firmly, reclaiming to her body.

As she straightened, the crowd leapt to its feet, roaring its approval of its new monarchs. Kei was nervous; she was now Queen Keianna Aceline of Tyra. She glanced at her sister, now Queen Kaelyn Aceline of Tyra. She saw that same nervousness reflected there, but she saw something in her sister's emerald eyes she didn't expect: excitement.

Under the cover of all the finery they had on, Kei felt Kaelyn grab her hand. Jamal's larger one took her other, and Kei felt the comfort and confidence spread from palm to palm.

She might be Queen Keianna Aceline of Tyra, Kei decided, but she would face any adventure that came her way: with bared blades and excitement, just as she always had.

_The End. _

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**A/N: That was the end! I hope you all like who I had ruling, I thought it would be best if they would co-rule. So, good or bad ending to the story? Tell me what you think, and be on the lookout for the prologue to the sequel to Silence and Shadows: Whispering Winds!**

**Purple Eyed Cat**


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